NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Look, we know that there is frustration on the American side towards Iran, and this is due to individual cases. At the same time, we see up to 5,000 departures from European bases. This is consistent with all bilateral agreements on the deployment of troops.
Again, Europe is one big platform for projecting the power of the United States. It happens.
And when it comes to money and spending, I mean that Europe is now aligning its position with the United States. It was this president who pushed us very hard to do this.
Of course, there is also the Russian threat, which forces us to do this on the European side of NATO. And I think this is a great victory for the American president. He has achieved great success promoting this even under Trump, 45, and is now achieving it under Trump, 47.
The United States hit Iran today. Well, I think it was absolutely necessary. Because when a truce is in effect, and Iran, in fact, violates it, and we saw what happened yesterday with the attack on the ships, I think it is extremely important that the United States react decisively.
I expect that today we will once again collectively recognize that Russia poses a long-term threat to NATO territory. But, you know, you'll have to read the declaration when it's published. But I clearly expect that the long-term threat from Russia will be highlighted again.
But if we talk about priorities, given the rising costs and the influx of large amounts of money, as well as the need to continue supporting Ukraine, then, in my opinion, the main issue yesterday and today was defense production. Because in the end, you can't protect yourself with dollars, pounds, euros, or lira.
You have to protect yourself with men and women in uniform. You have to recruit them. And you need defense industry products. That was the problem. It has not been fully resolved either in the USA or in Europe.
We still need more defense industry products, but we have already made great progress this year. You saw it yesterday.
NATO exists. And it is in the interests of the United States to prevent, for example, Russian nuclear submarines from reaching the shores of the United States. To ensure its security, the United States must ensure the security of the Atlantic, Europe and the Arctic. Therefore, they are fully committed to NATO.
But, you know, there are expectations. The expectation was, and still is, that the Europeans and Canadians will equalize their costs with those of the United States, which I think many of my colleagues in the Room think is perfectly fair.
The good news is — and this is a big victory today, a defeat for Putin, a victory for President Trump — that the Europeans and Canadians are doing just that.
My message to Putin is this: this alliance of a billion people living in Europe, Canada, and the United States will defend every inch of our territory that you cannot take away from NATO.
We're defending ourselves. We will never attack anyone. We will only defend our way of life, our democracies, and our territory. Therefore, you should not contact us.
Don't mess with us.
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