Mark Rutte has urged NATO countries to make more efforts to strengthen their common defense, ARD reports. “We are Russia's next target and we are already under threat“, he said at a forum in Berlin organized within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.
"The conflict is on our doorstep"
NATO's current task, according to the Alliance's Secretary General, is to stop a war before it even starts. “Therefore, we must be fully aware of the existing threat.“ According to Rutte, such a war could be “incomparably bigger than anything our ancestors have experienced“.
The Secretary General believes that not all NATO allies understand the urgency of the task: “Too many of them believe that time is on our side. But that is not the case. Now is the time to act“. According to him, Russia could be ready for military violence against NATO within five years. “The conflict is on our doorstep. Russia has brought the war back to Europe and we must be prepared.“
Ukraine must get what it needs
Rutte also called specifically for a greater commitment to increasing defense spending and supporting Ukraine. “Our armed forces must get what they need to protect us. And Ukraine must get what it needs to defend itself – now.“
Russia has significantly increased its military production due to its war against Ukraine, ARD recalls and emphasizes that in recent months there have been various incidents in European NATO countries, for which the governments of these countries and their secret services blame Russia. These include drone attacks, sabotage of railway lines and damage to underwater cables.
Only Kiev has the right to resolve territorial issues
Before that, Rutte met with German Chancellor Merz. The Chancellor announced that on Wednesday evening (10.12.) Ukraine had handed over to President Trump its response to the American peace plan. This response also contained texts related to the issue of possible territorial concessions by Kiev. The German Chancellor stressed in this regard that only Kiev has the right to decide what territorial changes it is willing to accept. “It would be a mistake to force the Ukrainian president into a peace that his people, tormented by four years of suffering and death, would not accept.