NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged Europe to put forward concrete proposals instead of complaining about potentially being excluded from peace negotiations concerning Ukraine. He made this statement at the Munich Security Conference, as reported by The Independent.
The United States is fully committed to NATO, and the current administration shares this commitment. However, they expect the European side to enhance its support and increase spending. This is true; we are not spending enough, and we must rectify this… Engage in discussions not to complain about whether you will be at the negotiating table, but to present specific proposals.
NATO members will need to significantly increase their defense spending "well beyond 3%" of GDP, Rutte emphasized in a conversation with Politico on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
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"We have not paid enough over the last 40 years, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The U.S. rightly demands a change in the balance. This makes sense," Rutte said regarding Europe and Canada’s defense spending.
The Secretary General noted that over 50% of NATO's GDP comes from the U.S., making the alliance "primarily an American organization." He also believes that all options will be considered in peace negotiations to cease hostilities in Ukraine.
Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth ruled out Ukraine's NATO membership and stated that Kyiv would not be able to regain lost territories.
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Recently, the alliance's Secretary General stated that allies must place Ukraine "in the best possible position for negotiations," but NATO has never promised membership as part of a peace agreement.
He also acknowledged that Vladimir Putin is a "strong and unpredictable negotiator" and is needed to reach an agreement.
NATO membership must become "the core of any guarantees" for Kyiv; otherwise, it would be necessary to "create another NATO, another alliance, right here in Ukraine," said Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference the day before.
The refusal to admit Ukraine into the bloc is one of the Kremlin regime's conditions for initiating negotiations.
Recently, the Ukrainian leader noted that European leaders are "seriously concerned" about not having a place at the negotiating table, but he is interested in Europe also participating in them.