NATO must stay united
NATO must stay united – is the message conveyed by NATO secretary general Mark Rutte in the context of the US presidential elections.
Leyla Cheamil, 05.11.2024, 13:50
NATO will work with the winner of the US elections, whoever that person may be and will do its best to stay united, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte promised on Monday. He was in Berlin for talks with German chancellor Olaf Scholz. “Whoever wins those elections, we will work with Kamala Harris, we will work with Donald Trump, and make sure that the alliance stays united,” said Rutte, a former prime minister of The Netherlands who took over at the helm of NATO from Jens Stoltenberg. “ I have no doubt, because it is in our interest. It is our interest here, but also the United States”, he added.
Since taking office on 1st October, Mark Rutte has been saying he is not worried about the outcome of the American elections. He said he knows both candidates well and that he worked with Donald Trump for four years. Rutter went on to say that “they know that if Putin would be successful in Ukraine, that at that moment, an emboldened Russia is on our eastern flank and will present a direct threat to NATO territory”, saying that this is why Washington is involved in Ukraine and in NATO.
Since taking office, Rutte has had a series of talks with political actors on the subject of the war in Ukraine. Last week, Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels that NATO and the European Union will create an operative group to consolidate cooperation between the two organisations. They warned that the deployment of North Korean military to Russia is a significant escalation of the war in Ukraine and a serious threat to European security and world peace.
Last month, Mark Rutte met NATO foreign ministers, saying that the war in Ukraine showed that instability in Europe has global consequences and that countries thousands of km away, like China, Iran and North Korea can start to undermine Europe’s security. He emphasised that our worlds are interconnected, and so is security, adding that allies will comply with their promise to deliver defence aid worth 40 billion euros to Ukraine, with figures indicating expenses of almost 21 billion in the first part of 2024. The partners in the Pacific area also announced new aid deliveries, with Australia to send Ukraine tanks. Allies are also boosting investment within NATO and one of the priorities is air defence, especially in the context of the drones entering NATO air space as part of the war.
