NATO Secretary General Rutte from Dublin: 'Everything now depends on Russia's cooperation'

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte answered journalists' questions on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit held in Dublin and said the ball in the Ukraine negotiations is now in Russia's court.

Rutte, describing the news coming out of Abu Dhabi as "extremely positive," said he acknowledged that the US, Europe and Ukraine are largely in harmony in the same position, but that at this stage this "largely depends on Russia." After it was noted that US President Trump's son-in-law and Special Envoy Jared Kushner and Special Envoy for Peace Steve Witkoff would come from Moscow to Dublin and join the meeting to be held the same evening, Rutte said, "We are at today now, let's see where things get this evening."

Confirming that shipments of American equipment to Ukraine, including Patriot systems, continue without interruption, Rutte stressed that European NATO allies and Canada have carried out a total of $250 billion in additional defense spending in 2025 and 2026, but that more is needed.

Answering a question about Turkey's role in NATO as well, Rutte said Turkey is "clearly one of NATO's key allies" and has been part of NATO almost since its beginning, and that because it has one of Europe's largest armies and defense industry infrastructures, Turkey is a key ally in every respect and is greatly respected by the other 31 allies.

Rutte, conveying that within the framework of security guarantees for Ukraine, Turkey and other key European countries are envisaged to take on a role, and that the US will also provide a clear assurance of support, also noted that a whole-of-society resilience approach is needed against hybrid threats arising from Russia's cooperation with Iran, China and North Korea. AA reported.