Putin is massively expanding arms production New Nato chief: "I'm worried about the long term"
Fears of war in Europe, Donald Trump, Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz: the new Nato Secretary General answers questions in an interview shortly before Christmas. There are plenty of strong words.
23.12.2024, 06:04
23.12.2024, 06:30
dpa
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- The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte does not currently see any danger of a Russian attack on the Alliance's territory, but at the same time looks to the future with concern.
- The background to Rutte's assessment is the massive expansion of Russia's arms production due to the war of aggression against Ukraine.
- In his opinion, the NATO states are not yet doing enough to counter this.
- Rutte also expects pressure in this direction from future US President Donald Trump, who in his first term of office threatened to withdraw the USA from NATO if the allies did not immediately spend two percent of their gross domestic product on defense.
The new Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte does not currently see the danger of a Russian attack on the alliance's territory, but at the same time looks to the future with concern. "If we don't increase our defense spending, we will have a serious problem in four to five years," he told the German Press Agency in an interview. "We don't need to be afraid at the moment. But in the long term, I am worried."
The background to Rutte's assessment is the massive expansion of Russia's arms production due to the war of aggression against Ukraine. In his opinion, the NATO states are not yet doing enough to counter this. "We need to strengthen the defense industry and expand production. Additional production lines and shifts need to be set up, as we are not producing enough military goods to protect ourselves in the long term," explained the 57-year-old. "We still have time to prepare and strengthen our deterrence to prevent a war on NATO territory. But we must act now."
Rutte also expects pressure in this direction from future US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withdraw the USA from NATO during his first term in office if the allies did not immediately spend two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. "He will want us to do more, and he's right. We have to do more," said Rutte. Overall, the European allies currently spend two percent of their GDP on defense. But there will be a problem with deterrence in four to five years' time if we do not spend more.
No announcement on increasing the NATO spending target
Rutte did not say whether he considers an increase in the NATO target for defense spending to three percent of GDP or even more to be sensible. A decision on this should be made by the NATO summit next June. There have recently been reports that Trump could demand spending of five percent from the Europeans. Germany will probably end up with a quota of around 2.1 percent this year.
Rutte considers the sometimes harsh criticism of Olaf Scholz's (l.) Ukraine policy to be unjustified. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte considers significantly higher defense spending to be necessary. (archive image
Image: Keystone/AP/Virginia Mayo
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," says Rutte on the Taurus issue. (archive image)
Image: dpa
"He will want us to do more," said Rutte (r.) on possible future demands from Donald Trump. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
Rutte (r.) wants to put Volodymyr Selenskyj in the best possible starting position for possible negotiations with Russia. (archive image)
Image: Keystone
Rutte does not rule out the possibility of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the coming months. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
Rutte considers the sometimes harsh criticism of Olaf Scholz's (l.) Ukraine policy to be unjustified. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte considers significantly higher defense spending to be necessary. (archive image
Image: Keystone/AP/Virginia Mayo
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," says Rutte on the Taurus issue. (archive image)
Image: dpa
"He will want us to do more," said Rutte (r.) on possible future demands from Donald Trump. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
Rutte (r.) wants to put Volodymyr Selenskyj in the best possible starting position for possible negotiations with Russia. (archive image)
Image: Keystone
Rutte does not rule out the possibility of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the coming months. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
In the discussion surrounding German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's continued rejection of the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Rutte made it clear that he would personally make a different decision and would not place any restrictions on their use. "In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," said the former Dutch Prime Minister. However, it was not up to him to decide what allies should supply.
In principle, however, Rutte firmly defended the Chancellor against criticism. "What Olaf Scholz has done is impressive. Scholz has helped ensure that Germany is second only to the USA in terms of military support for Ukraine, with 28 billion euros, in some calculations even 34 billion. That is a huge sum, far ahead of many other countries, including large European economies," he said. This is an achievement for which Ukraine can also be grateful to Scholz.
Clear words on Germany's Ukraine policy
In response to the sometimes harsh accusations made against Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Rutte said: "I have often told Zelenskyi that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair." Selenskyj had recently criticized Scholz for, among other things, having spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone against his will. He also repeatedly expressed his public lack of understanding for the chancellor's refusal to supply Taurus cruise missiles.
Rutte emphasized that he did not want to interfere in the ongoing German election campaign. "I am not taking sides, as I can work with both Olaf Scholz and Friedrich Merz (CDU)," said the former Dutch head of government. He added that it was important that Germany knew that its own values and collective security were at stake in its Ukraine policy. "If Ukraine were to lose, we would have to spend much, much more on defense to counter the Russian threat," he added.
According to Rutte himself, he also argued similarly in his exchange with Trump, who is believed in Europe to be capable of reducing military support for Ukraine - even if this would mean that Russia could ultimately present itself as the winner of the war. "My argument to him, and in general, is that the conflict in Ukraine is becoming a problem for the US," he said. Russia's links to North Korea, Iran and China are visible, and the cooperation between these four actors also makes the entire conflict a threat to the USA.
Rutte: Ukraine to rearm considerably once again
According to Rutte, the consequence of this must be to significantly arm Ukraine once again before possible negotiations. "We must ensure that Ukraine, which is currently in a difficult situation, gets into a strong position," he said. "That's why we urgently need to ensure that we provide additional military support for Ukraine." Until then, he would also not speculate about possible European peacekeepers to secure a ceasefire.