“Russia working together with North Korea, Iran and China is not only threatening Europe, it’s threatening peace and security, yes, here in Europe, but also in the Indo-Pacific and in North America,” Rutte said on Tuesday.
Speaking before talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rutte outlined what he claimed as the dangers posed by North Korean and Iranian military assistance for Russia, an accusation the US and the EU have been levelling for some times.
“At the same time, China backs Russia’s economy, enables its defense industry and amplifies its narrative all over the world stage,” he said.
The head of the western military alliance, in what appeared to be a message to the next American administration as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, also underlined the importance of transatlantic unity and continued support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Trump has already criticized the scale of Western aid to Kiev and has said he will end the conflict in Ukraine swiftly, without specifying how. His victory in the US presidential election has caused concern among Washington’s western allies about the degree of future US commitment to helping Ukraine.
The NATO chief wants the bloc’s members to “must recommit to stay on the war path and do more to keep Ukraine in the war” and has said: "We have to increase the cost of war for Russian President Vladimir Putin."
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