BRUSSELS: NATO\u2019s new chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday downplayed fears over the impact of a potential Donald Trump victory in upcoming US elections and pledged to keep backing Ukraine, as he assumed leadership of the world\u2019s most powerful military alliance.
\nThe former Dutch prime minister steps into the role at a pivotal moment, as Russia presses its war in Ukraine and China flexes its growing might \u2014 and just weeks before voters in the United States head to the polls.
\nRutte on Tuesday took over the alliance from Norway\u2019s Jen Stoltenberg, who has guided NATO through one of its most tumultuous decades.
\nThe outcome of the November 5 vote is set to be the straight-talking 57-year-old\u2019s first major test \u2014 and will shape his initial four-year term at the helm.
\nOn the campaign trail, former president Trump has threatened not to protect NATO members who do not spend enough on defense and promised he can cut a quick deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not worried. I know both candidates very well. I worked for four years with Donald Trump. He was the one pushing us to spend more, and he achieved,\u201d Rutte said ahead of a formal handover ceremony.
\n\u201cI will be able to work with both whatever is the outcome of the elections.\u201d
\nIn opting for the veteran Dutch statesman, a staunch US ally and stalwart backer of Ukraine, NATO\u2019s 32 nations have picked a leader expected to keep pushing support for Kyiv and efforts to bolster the alliance\u2019s own defenses in the face of Russia.
\n\u201cNATO will be in safe hands with you at the helm,\u201d Stoltenberg said.
\nRutte listed backing Kyiv as among his top priorities \u2014 along with ensuring NATO keeps on spending more on defense, and bolstering ties with partners in the Asia Pacific.
\n\u201cWe have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation,\u201d he told journalists.
\nBut uncertainty over future Western support for Ukraine comes as Russian forces advance on the battlefield more than three-and-a-half years after the Kremlin\u2019s all-out invasion.
\nNATO, whose members have supplied 99 percent of all foreign weaponry to Ukraine, agreed at a summit in July to play a bigger role in delivering those arms and Rutte will be key in stewarding support.<\/p>\n
Another central task for Rutte will be to keep pushing NATO members to spend more on their militaries to counter any potential menace from Moscow.
\nSpurred on by the war in Ukraine \u2014 and pressure from Washington \u2014 European countries have already ratcheted up defense spending.
\nThis year, 23 countries are set to reach NATO\u2019s target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on their militaries.
\nBut with the threat from Russia expected to last for years \u2014 whatever the outcome in Ukraine \u2014 there is a clear understanding that more will be needed.
\n\u201cWe have to spend more. We have to increase our collective defense,\u201d Rutte said.
\nThat could prove a tough sell for Rutte \u2014 who only saw the Netherlands reach the two-percent goal in his fourteenth, and final year, in office.
\nEven if he wanted to change NATO\u2019s direction, Rutte would likely struggle to shake up an alliance based on careful consensus between its members.
\nStoltenberg, whose mandate was extended three times, trod a careful balancing act as NATO emerged reenergized in the face of Russia\u2019s aggression.
\nAnd the former Norwegian premier has told his successor that the greatest challenge he faces is keeping all of NATO\u2019s sometimes truculent leaders on the same page.
\n\u201cOne thing will not change, and that is NATO\u2019s core mission, and that is to make sure that we defend our people, our nations, and, Of course, our values,\u201d Rutte said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRUSSELS: NATO\u2019s new chief Mark Rutte on Tuesday downplayed fears over the impact of a potential Donald Trump victory in upcoming US elections and pledged to keep backing Ukraine, as he assumed leadership of the world\u2019s most powerful military alliance. The former Dutch prime minister steps into the role at a pivotal moment, as Russia …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":70953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70936"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70958,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70936\/revisions\/70958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}