NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte answered questions at the Euronews Defense and Space Summit held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. The first question posed to Rutte was about Russia sending a warning letter to NATO stating that "it will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons to protect Kaliningrad". Emphasizing that he could not confirm what Russia conveyed to NATO, but that they reacted to it, Rutte said, "Basically, what we said was that we are a defensive alliance. Stop nuclear threats. This is absolutely unnecessary and does not help in any way. And end the war against Ukraine. We gave a short and concise answer and spoke clearly. But I think it is up to them to explain exactly what was written in the Russian letter."
"PUTIN KNOWS HE CAN NEVER DEFEAT NATO"
When asked about the risk of using nuclear weapons against the Baltic countries and whether there was an escalation, Rutte said, "No, it is not. Putin knows that he can never defeat NATO. Therefore, I do not take it that seriously. NATO is much stronger than Russia. There is no way they can defeat us."
"ALL THIS IS HAPPENING BECAUSE THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL FOR HIM IN UKRAINE"
NATO Secretary General said, "Currently, 43 thousand Russians are killed or seriously injured a month in Ukraine. Ukraine is holding the front line and is in a much better situation than six months or a year ago. It is striking deep inside Russia. Allies are supporting Ukraine in ways such as arms deliveries and so on. This is the picture and Putin is not winning. Putin is a little worried and shaken. The best way to deal with this situation is to be a little calm."
Stating that Russia is trying to divide the alliance and make it lose focus on Ukraine with letters and hybrid attacks, Rutte said, "No matter what kind of hybrid event occurs in Europe, the response will be more support for Ukraine, not less. This is the message. Stay calm, continue, continue to support Ukraine."
Asked whether there was a great rush for the war to move out of Ukraine and towards a NATO country, and whether the risk assessment was the same as three weeks, three months and a year ago, Rutte said: "Yes. Let's not forget, if the Russians want to do something against Finland or one of the Baltic countries or Poland or any country in NATO, we will see a military buildup. If you don't believe me, listen to Latvian and Estonian politicians. If we think there is a serious threat to Estonia or Latvia, we will see you first." "They say we will be the ones to call."
Emphasizing that NATO is ready to protect its territory, Rutte said, "There is no threat. If something happens, we are ready to resist it. We will always act defensively and, if necessary, of course, we will defend ourselves. The important thing is that all this is happening because things are not going well for him in Ukraine. He wants to divide us."
Asked whether it should be concluded that nothing has changed despite the letters from Russia, the visit of a senior CIA official and other signs, Rutte said: "There is no imminent threat to NATO territory. If there is a military buildup, we will see it and deal with it. If anything else happens, we will deal with it as well. We have been trained for this and we are ready for it. We have a single command structure, 32 allies working together."
"UKRAINANS ARE IN A VERY GOOD CONDITION COMPARED TO SIX MONTHS OR A YEAR AGO"
When asked about the news that the situation in Ukraine was very serious, Rutte answered that the situation was due to Russia hitting the cities intensely. On the other hand, Rutte said that Ukraine is in a much better situation on the front and said, "The Ukrainians are in a much better situation than six months or a year ago. Look at what they have done with attacks deep into Russia."
On the other hand, Rutte, emphasizing that Ukraine needs air defense missiles for the coming weeks and months, addressed the allies and said, "Please give whatever you can. This saves lives."
"WE NEED A COUNTRY WITH 340 MILLION POPULATIONS TO DEFEND US"
In response to a question about the impact of the Iran war on the energy market, Rutte said, "When a war breaks out, it always has negative consequences." Rutte said, "Why are the Americans doing the job of eliminating Iran's nuclear capacity? Because we cannot do it. But in the future, as Europeans, we must make sure that we are in a position to do this ourselves. This is already a bit strange. As 600 million people in Europe, we need a country of 340 million people, six to eight hours flight away from here, to defend us in order to protect ourselves against 140 million Russians."
Asked about peace efforts in Ukraine, Rutte said, "We all hope for this. I spoke to some senior American officials involved in peace efforts in New York last week. They are working day and night to achieve this. We all want this war to end, but it takes two to tango. Putin does not seem to want to tango. I do not know whether this will happen before winter. At the moment Putin does not seem willing to get involved in the process."
Asked what NATO 3.0 means, Rutte said, "First of all, it means an alliance in which we pay and both parties make commitments. In other words, the relationship will become more equal. Since we all make more commitments, it will be a stronger alliance."
Rutte also stated that it would not be wise in military and tactical terms for the USA to not be conventionally present on the continent while providing a nuclear security umbrella to Europe, and said, "The USA will continue its presence in the conventional field in Europe."
Rutte said, "Thanks to Europe assuming more responsibility for security, the United States will be much more dependent on Europe. Because they need Europe, a safe Atlantic and a safe Arctic."
"THEY ARE MAKING HUGE INVESTMENTS IN THEIR ARMY"
