HAGUE – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed optimism Wednesday that alliance members would agree to a new defense spending target of 5% of GDP, a move aligned with U.S. expectations for a stronger European contribution to collective security. Speaking ahead of the NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague, Rutte acknowledged the political difficulty of such a commitment but insisted that the threat from Russia and global instability made it unavoidable.
Rutte emphasized that the United States remains “totally committed” to NATO and Article 5, which obliges collective defense in the event of an attack on a member state. He noted that Canada and European allies are expected to accelerate defense spending to better match U.S. contributions. “There is absolute clarity… that the Canadians and the Europeans will speed up their spending,” he said, “making sure that we are able to defend ourselves against the Russians and others.”
Addressing a potential objection from Spain, which has voiced concern over the new target, Rutte dismissed the possibility of it derailing the summit’s outcome. He also commented on a private message recently disclosed by U.S. President Donald Trump, stating he had no issue with its release and calling it “a statement of fact.”
On the topic of the recent U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Rutte defended the operation, calling it “crucial” to preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “The 14 huge bombs dropped on the nuclear facility of Iran… was crucial to take out the nuclear capability of Iranians, which NATO has always said Iran should not get its hands on,” he stated.
