THE HAGUE—NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte insisted Monday that Ukraine would have the alliance leaders’ ears and full attention despite their members-only working session during the Hague summit, which will formally kick off today amid a geopolitical storm fueled by tension over Iran.
“Let’s not forget, Iran is heavily involved in the fight of Russia against Ukraine by, for example, their drone deliveries, which are killing innocent Ukrainians every day, in cities, in communities, without any respect for life,” Rutte said.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the two-day summit in the Netherlands, the NATO civilian leader described Russia as the alliance’s “most significant and direct threat” and highlighted the members’ commitment to providing “unwavering and persistent” support to Ukraine.
“The most significant and direct threat facing this Alliance remains the Russian Federation. Moscow continues to wage war against Ukraine with the support of North Korea, Iran, and China as well as Belarus,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend today’s dinner; Rutte also noted, “There are other meetings scheduled for Zelensky at the summit,” even though the doors remain shut to the members-only working meeting on Wednesday.
A short statement was drafted to keep the summit on track by minimizing differences over details and wording.
“You will see important language about Ukraine, including connecting the defense spending up to 2035 to Ukraine, and the need for Ukraine to stay in the fight,” Rutte said. “This is a clear commitment by allies.”
He then announced: “And we have – I can announce that now – new estimates showing that our European and Canadian Allies have stepped up and have already pledged – where we originally would have been able to announce €20 billion over the first three months of this year, it is now they will provide over €35 billion ($40.6 billion) in additional security assistance to Ukraine for the year ahead.”
The NATO chief also highlighted that Ukraine’s path to eventual NATO membership was ensured, and warned that any Russian attack on NATO would prompt a “devastating” response.
“There’s an irreversible path for Ukraine to NATO. That is still the truth today, and it will still be true on Thursday after this summit,” Rutte said.
US President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in the Netherlands tonight. This will be his first NATO meeting since being re-elected.
As European allies hope to persuade Trump not to pull troops or US capabilities out of the continent, as he suggested in the past, some members of the US delegation, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), co-chair of the Senate NATO observer group, stress the significance of unity among the allies.
“We need to send the message that the Transatlantic Alliance is still united, that we are not going to be divided,” she said during the Atlantic Council’s NATO Summit kick-off reception in The Hague.
“We are not going to be divided by Vladimir Putin, by what’s happening in the Middle East, by what’s happening in Ukraine, and all of our allies need to understand that, and so do our adversaries,” Shaheen emphasized.
“And as we’re thinking about the challenges that lie ahead,” she said.