‘THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO GO IT ALONE,’ NATO’s Rutte tells U.S. and Europe
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned the United States and Europe on Wednesday (March 26) against any temptation to “go it alone” on security, amid increased tensions over the future of the transatlantic alliance.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently cast doubt on Washington’s willingness to defend NATO allies it deemed were not paying enough for their own defence, triggering alarm among European leaders about the future of the Atlantic alliance as they face up to a more assertive Russia.
Speaking at the Warsaw School of Economics, Rutte said the U.S. needed European countries to “step up” on security and that the alliance must become fairer.
Rutte added there will be no normalisation of relations with Russia even after the war in Ukraine is over, and that it would “take decades” to build the confidence to do so.
Rutte also said Europe could still trust the U.S. administration after it emerged that a journalist was included in a group chat among national security aides to coordinate U.S. military strikes on Yemeni militants.
