Trump and Rutte also unveiled a deal under which the NATO military alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the US, including Patriot anti-missile batteries, and then send them to Ukraine.
“This is really big,” said Rutte, as he touted a deal aimed at easing Trump’s long-held complaints that the US is paying more than European and NATO allies to aid Ukraine.
Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain were among the buyers helping Ukraine, added the NATO chief.
“If I was Vladimir Putin today and heard you speaking … I would reconsider that I should take negotiations about Ukraine more seriously,” said Rutte.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he had spoken with Trump and was “grateful” for the arms deal.
