New NATO chief Mark Rutte voiced strong support for Ukraine on Tuesday and said he was not worried about the upcoming US election and could work with both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Reuters quoted him as saying. ;.
Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, took over from Jens Stoltenberg as NATO secretary general just weeks before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election pitting Democrat Harris against Republican Trump, who has been highly critical of NATO.
Trump refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against the Russian invasion.
Rutte played down concerns in the transatlantic alliance about the election of NATO's top power, telling reporters at the alliance's headquarters: "I am not worried.
I worked for four years with Donald Trump. He was the one who got us to spend more (on defense) and he got it done -- because ... we're at a much higher level of spending now than we were when he took office,'' Rutte said.
NATO estimates that 23 of its 32 members will meet their target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense this year, compared to just three a decade ago.
Officials say some of this is due to Trump, but much of it was caused by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Rutte said Trump was also right to push for NATO to focus more on China. He reiterated NATO's claim that China had become a "decisive factor" for Moscow's military efforts in Ukraine by supplying Russia with important technology.
Rutte also praised Harris, saying she has a "fantastic record as vice president" and is a "highly respected leader".
On the war in Ukraine, he avoided a direct answer to a question about whether Kyiv is winning. NATO members provide most of the weapons and ammunition supplied to Ukraine.
Rütte said the situation on the battlefield was "difficult" and Russia has achieved "limited" success this year, but at a high price. He said he had seen estimates that 1,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded each day recently.
"We need to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," he said.
Signaling continuity with Stoltenberg, Rutte said he had three main priorities - making sure NATO has the ability to defend against any threat, supporting Ukraine and addressing global challenges by working with partners "near and far" .
While Western leaders emphasize that NATO is a defensive alliance, Moscow has long insisted that it is a threat to Russia's security.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it does not expect an improvement in relations with NATO under Rutte.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted NATO to send thousands more troops to its eastern flank and radically overhaul its defense plans to take the possibility of an attack from Moscow more seriously than at any time since the end of the Cold War .
One of Rutte's key tasks will be to convince NATO members to provide additional troops, weapons and spending to fully implement the new defense plans, diplomats and analysts say.
"We have to invest more and close the capability gaps and try to achieve all the goals that NATO has set here," Rutte said.