“Peace will not last if Putin gets his way in Ukraine, because then he will press ahead.”
The NATO head warned that a bad deal for Ukraine would embolden Russia and its allies such as China, North Korea and Tehran.
“I am convinced that peace can only last if Ukraine comes to the table from a position of strength,” he said.
“For this, it needs our continued help, more weapons and faster, so it can defend itself better and negotiate a good deal for Ukraine, for Europe and for the world.”
Rutte reiterated his insistence that Europe needs to massively ramp up its defence spending, especially as that is a key demand from Trump.
The NATO leader said the alliance’s threshold of two percent of gross domestic product was “not nearly enough” to face the threat from Moscow.
“If we don’t do it, we are safe now but not in four or five years,” he said.
“So if you don’t do it, get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand.”
