NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite the situation in Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday, 5 March.
"Many leaders in Europe and the United States, Canada say it has to be 'and, and': make sure that as allies we enable what the Americans are doing in the Middle East ... and at the same time make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay strong in the fight", he said.
In the same interview, Rutte tressed that NATO’s defence systems had successfully neutralised a ballistic missile fired by Iran towards NATO member Türkiye. He said the interception demonstrated the alliance’s commitment to defending “every inch of NATO territory” and maintaining a comprehensive security posture. He said Article 5, which is NATO’s collective defence clause, was not being considered and that NATO itself was not directly involved in the conflict.
Responding to criticism that he had praised United States President Donald Trump too enthusiastically, Rutte said the United States remained the alliance’s most important member and that strong American leadership had helped push NATO members to increase defence spending.
He also welcomed recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron on strengthening Europe’s nuclear deterrence, while emphasising that the United States nuclear umbrella remains the ultimate security guarantee for NATO.
Source: commonspace.eu with Reuters
