NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Chatham House on 9 June to outline his vision for the alliance’s future funding and priorities, in his keynote pre-summit address before the NATO meeting on June 24 and 25.
In his speech, Rutte outlined the need to ‘make our alliance stronger, fairer and more lethal’ in order to meet an increasing range of threats, particularly regarding Russia’s capacity to rearm and threaten alliance countries in the near future.
‘In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year,’ he said. ‘And its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone…Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years’. He repeated five years for emphasis.
Rutte outlines the Russian threat in his Chatham House speech.
‘Let’s not kid ourselves,’ he said, ‘we are all on the Eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian missiles travel at many times the speed of sound. The distance between European capitals is only a matter of minutes. There is no longer East or West – there is just NATO.’
The speech is Rutte’s last public engagement before the June NATO summit. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the meeting in The Hague, the White House has confirmed, where he is expected to press European countries to commit to greater defence spending.
Addressing the issue in his Chatham House speech, Rutte said:
‘It is vital that every member of NATO pulls their weight. Because America has carried too much of the burden for too long.
‘America’s Allies have broad shoulders, and Europe and Canada will do more for our shared security. And that will be backed by America’s rock-solid commitment to NATO’.
After a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Thursday in Brussels last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was encouraged by the discussion and that there was ‘almost near consensus’ on a 5 per cent commitment to NATO.
Echoing that in his Chatham House speech, Rutte said:
‘At the summit in The Hague, I expect allied leaders will agree to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence. It will be a NATO-wide commitment. And a defining moment for the alliance’.
You can watch the speech in full here.