Mark Rutte says trade tensions under Trump will not affect NATO’s deterrence, stressing unity in military alliance.
NATO chief Mark Rutte says tensions between Europe and the United States over trade issues under President Donald Trump will not affect the alliance’s collective deterrence.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Monday, Rutte also dismissed any notion that Europe could abandon its security relationship with the US. NATO’s secretary-general said a European defence strategy without Washington would be a “silly thought”.
“We have to stay connected,” Rutte told reporters, citing geopolitical “threats”, including Russia.
“The best thing the West can do is to stay united, and I know that the same thinking is still prevalent in the US, including in the White House,” he added.
Rutte made the comments after Trump has often accused Washington’s NATO partners of not spending enough on defence and threatened not to protect them in case of attack.
Many European members of the bloc have recently moved to raise their defence spending to 2 percent of their gross domestic products (GDPs), NATO’s current minimum recommendation. However, Trump demanded an enormous hike last month, calling for spending of 5 percent of their GDPs.
While Rutte said European defence without the US “will not work”, he stressed that Trump-instigated trade tensions “will not get in the way of our collective determination to keep our deterrence strong”.
“There are always issues between allies. It is never always tranquil and happy going,” Rutte said.
Trump has rocked some of Washington’s closest partners by announcing 25 percent tariffs on imports from fellow NATO member Canada and threatening to do the same to the European Union.
The US, which spent nearly $850bn on defence last year, is the top military power in NATO. Washington, which has troops stationed across Europe, has also played an outsized role in providing military and financial aid to Ukraine to help repel the Russian invasion there.
But Trump has previously questioned the US commitment to NATO’s collective defence policy, which states that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all members.
Soon after beginning his second term on January 20, Trump also froze almost all foreign assistance as part of his “America first” agenda, pausing billions of dollars in global funding – a move that could affect funding for Ukraine.
On top of the trade threats and aid cuts, Trump has also threatened NATO member Denmark by pledging to take control of Greenland, a self-governed Danish territory.
On Monday, Rutte aimed to play down Trump’s pledges to acquire Greenland, suggesting NATO should play a greater role in bolstering defences in the contested Arctic region.
“President Trump alerted us to the fact that when it comes to the high north, there is a geopolitical and strategic issue at stake,” Rutte said.
“Collectively as an alliance, we will always look at the best way to make sure that we can tackle those challenges.”
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