Rutte: “I understand that Trump is disappointed with allies, but most have been helpful”

Brussels – A “frank and open” discussion, revealing, on the one hand, the US President’s disappointment with NATO allies over their lack of support for Washington and Tel Aviv’s war against Iran, and the Atlantic Alliance Secretary-General’s efforts to persuade the tycoon that “the US was able to act” against Iran “because many European countries, though not all, honored their commitments.” So, “the picture is not black and white, but has shades of grey.” But, speaking of images, what is missing for now is the official snapshot of the handshake between the two leaders or of their meeting, replaced by the welcome extended to Rutte by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

Mark Rutte, on CNN, described his meeting with Donald Trump, which took place when it was night in Europe. The former Dutch prime minister spent around two hours at the White House for a face-to-face meeting in which, as previously reported, the issue of a possible US withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was also raised. “Let me be absolutely clear: he is clearly disappointed by many NATO allies, and I can see his point” because “it is true that not all European nations have kept their commitments,” he said. “At the same time, I was able to emphasize that the large majority of European countries have been helpful regarding bases, logistics, overflights, and that they lift up to the commitments,” Rutte added, underlining that “Europe, as a platform of power projection for the United States, was in full play  over the past six weeks.”

Trump, on the other hand, turned to Truth Social for his comments after the meeting – and, above all, his attacks: “NATO wasn’t there when we needed it, and it won’t be there if we need it again. Remember Greenland: that big, poorly run, piece of ice!!!” he wrote in capital letters. Meanwhile, shortly before the meeting between the two leaders, it was spokesperson Karoline Leavitt who relayed the president’s words to the press about the allies: “They have been put to the test, and they failed.”

Rutte tried to defuse the White House occupant’s anger: “I highlighted the positive aspects,” he added to CNN, “but clearly it was a very frank, very open discussion – and also a discussion between two friends.” The head of the Atlantic Alliance sidestepped the issue and did not respond directly to the possibility of the US leaving NATO or of Washington providing less support to the Alliance than Trump’s predecessors did. “Clearly he is bitter, but at the same time he listened very carefully to my arguments about what is happening, and I also reminded him that it was his leadership that made it possible to reach the 5 percent commitment” of GDP for defence spending agreed at the “Hague summit: this is a transformative change for NATO and it is a transformative legacy he leaves behind.”

Finally, Rutte pointed out that “the allies stand with Trump on the objective of reducing Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.” This is such a “crucial” point for Europeans, too, that it leads Rutte to believe that the view that this war is illegal does “not” prevail among the countries of the Old Continent. Of course, “I know” that Europeans would have preferred to act through diplomacy, “but we run the risk that this could lead to a situation similar to that of North Korea, where talks drag on for so long that, at a certain point, it is too late for a solution, because by then they would have got their hands on nuclear capabilities.” And “this is essentially a major risk for Europe” and “it is an existential risk for Israel and the Middle East.”

Rutte has no doubts and fully endorses the US approach: “The whole world is safer thanks to this president’s ability to undermine those” Iranian nuclear capabilities. “This is recognized by many in Europe who know that continuing to talk to achieve this result would potentially have taken us past the point at which it can still be addressed.” Therefore, the former Dutch prime minister at the helm of the Atlantic Alliance does not comment on Trump’s threats to destroy the entire Iranian civilisation and concludes: “I do not comment on everything; what I can say is that I support the president, and I know that a large proportion of Europeans do the same, with regard to removing Iran’s ability to export chaos to the region, to Europe and to the whole world.” For Rutte, the world is “absolutely” safer now than it was before the war began. Even though “we are not naive and we see the links” between Iran and China and other actors.