Rutte seeks to retain US in NATO by boosting arms production
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is reportedly campaigning to boost defense production and arms deals within the alliance, aiming to address shortfalls and signal demand to the US, potentially securing American commitment ahead of the July summit in Ankara.
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BRUSSELS, May 22. /TASS/. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte hopes to keep the US in NATO by promising to purchase more American weapons and boost arms production in Europe, the Politico portal reported, citing sources within the alliance.
According to the sources, the NATO Secretary General has been campaigning in recent weeks to dramatically scale up defense production and deals. This will not only eliminate the real shortfall in the alliance's arsenals but also "send a demand signal" to US President Donald Trump. In this way, Rutte hopes to ensure the success of the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Foreign Minister of Sweden where the NATO foreign ministers will meet on Friday, praised Rutte’s calls. "I think it’s so good that Rutte is highlighting this [the idea of increasing military production and procurement within NATO - TASS] in Ankara so that we can have common standards, better interoperability, and produce more and cheaper," Maria Malmer Stenergard told Politico. "We need to continue to trade and continue to produce weapons together, and the US has some distinctive capabilities," she said.
At the same time, any plans for more active NATO involvement in defense procurement could run counter to the initiative being developed within the European Union to stimulate European defense industry companies, the publication writes. Nevertheless, the focus on industry "makes full sense to distract from divisions elsewhere," expert Gerlinde Niehus told the publication.
According to the publication’s sources, Rutte asked European NATO members to prepare lists of all defense production and procurement plans for the Ankara summit.
The summit’s declaration will be packaged with deals that NATO "has not yet formally announced," one of the sources said. However, the publication notes that Rutte’s plan may not lead to tangible results. Besides running counter to the EU’s initiative to boost the European defense industry, defense companies may not respond to declarations at the NATO level, as many manufacturers need existing contracts to expand production, the article notes.
