NATO chief says Europeans will pay for US weapons sent to Ukraine
4 Min Read
US envoy Richard Grenell underscores that NATO members must pay their "fair share" on defense before considering alliance expansion.
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte addresses the media during a TV interview as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, on January 23, 2025 (AFP)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Thursday urged the United States to maintain its military support for Ukraine while emphasizing that Europe is prepared to shoulder the financial burden.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte highlighted the necessity for NATO to invest more in defense, enhance industrial defense production, and take on a larger share of the costs associated with aiding Ukraine.
"On Ukraine, we need the US also to stay involved," Rutte stated.
"If this new Trump administration is willing to keep on supplying Ukraine from its defense industrial base, the bill will be paid by the Europeans, I'm absolutely convinced of this, we have to be willing to do that," he stressed.
Rutte's remarks came after US President Donald Trump asserted earlier this week that the European Union should increase its support for Ukraine.
At Davos, Rutte underscored the importance of preventing a Russian victory, warning that it could result in Russian President Vladimir Putin "high fiving" the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China.
"We really have to step up and not scale back our support for Ukraine," the NATO chief underlined, cautioning that "the frontline is moving in the wrong direction."
In a related context, Rutte further emphasized that NATO's need to increase defense spending has pushed the alliance into "crisis mode", pointing out that "on industry production, we are really in a bad place."
Not all members have reached the target of spending 2% of GDP on defense, which he said was already too low, he warned, agreeing that the situation needed to change.
Rutte agreed that the situation needed to change, and warned that
“We are safe now, but Nato collectively is not able to defend itself in four or five years if we stick to the 2%,” he said.
US envoy lambasts NATO members over defense spending
During the same event, US envoy Richard Grenell underscored that NATO members must pay their "fair share" on defense before considering alliance expansion.
His comments came in response to Rutte's assertion that Ukraine could achieve full NATO membership once sustainable peace is secured.
"You're going to run into a big buzzsaw in America if we have the NATO secretary general talking about adding Ukraine to NATO," Grenell said via video link.
"You cannot ask the American people to expand the umbrella of NATO when the current members aren't paying their fair share, and that includes the Dutch who need to step up," he added.
Grenell reiterated President Trump’s call for NATO members to increase defense spending, warning that Americans are frustrated by the financial disparity.
"There's a huge frustration from Americans that we're spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and our leaders aren't speaking to each other to try to solve problems," he said, criticizing former US President Joe Biden for avoiding direct talks with his Russian counterpart.
The transatlantic alliance has set a minimum defense spending target of two percent of GDP, but Trump has suggested raising it to five percent.
Rutte acknowledged the need for increased contributions, stating, "We have collectively to move up and we will decide on the exact number later this year, but it will be considerably more than two (percent)."
He also stressed that Europe must be prepared to contribute more to sustain US defense support. "We have to be willing to do that, because at this moment, they are paying more than the Europeans. And here Trump is right."
Read more: NATO won't back Trump's new defense spending target
