NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, while a Globalist, brings to the job a personality that has not succumbed to extreme ‘Trump-Derangement-Syndrome’.
He is also willing to state his mind even about the once-untouchable Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Rutte has come out and said he considers the harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Zelenskiy to be ‘unjustified’.
Germany has been a major ally of Ukraine, but its refusal to provide long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kiev.
Reuters reported:
“’I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair’, DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
[…] After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora’s box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a ‘fair peace’.”
Politico reported:
“Rutte said that unlike Scholz, he is in favor of supplying Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not impose restrictions on their use. “In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine,” he said, adding that it is not up to him to decide what exactly the allies should supply.”
Back in November, on the European Parliament, marking the 1,000th day of war against Russia, Zelenskyy again took stabs at Scholz, referring to the phone call.
“’While some European leaders think about, you know, some elections or something like this at Ukraine’s expense, Putin is focused on winning this war’,” he said. ‘He will not stop on his own’.”
There are even indications that Scholz’s SDP may include a provision in its election manifesto to ‘officially’ refuse to provide Ukraine with Taurus missiles.
Speaking to DPA agency, Rutte also talked about the expectation with the arrival of US President Donald J. Trump.
DPA International reported:
“NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is expecting new pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump about the comparatively low defense spending of European allies including Germany.
‘He will want us to do more’, Rutte said in an interview with dpa.”
While NATO members have been committed to invest at least 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense, many European allies have only now reached the spending goal.
“In four to five years, however, there will be a problem with deterrence against Russia if defense spending is not increasing further, he said.”
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