International Rutte: Putin has no right of veto over Nato memberships
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte does not want to make Ukraine's membership of the defense alliance dependent on Russia's stance.
23.01.2025, 12:45
SDA
"We must make it clear that Vladimir Putin has no right of veto and no vote on who will join Nato in the future," said Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The Dutchman assumes that Ukraine will join Nato one day. But before that, there must be a sustainable peace in the Russian war of aggression, he said at an event organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.
"And for it to be sustainable, we must ensure that Putin will never, never, never try to conquer a square kilometer of Ukraine again." The task now is to put Ukraine in the best possible position before peace talks begin.
Secretary General considers higher NATO contributions necessary
Rutte also emphasized that the member states must significantly increase their contributions to NATO. "Two percent is not nearly enough," he said. If this remains the case, NATO will no longer be able to defend itself in four or five years' time.
Rutte did not give a figure. US President Donald Trump recently called for the allies to spend five percent of their gross domestic product on defense in the future. For many NATO countries, this would mean that they would have to more than double their defense spending.
