NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that the end of the war in Ukraine would not eliminate the Russian threat to European countries. On the contrary, once the fighting stops, Russia could redeploy its large military forces to other areas.
Rutte made the remarks during an appearance on the Dutch talk show Pauw & De Wit, according to Bloomberg.
The NATO chief said that a significant portion of Russia’s military is currently engaged in the war against Ukraine, limiting the immediate military threat to other European countries.
“The Russian threat does not manifest directly at our border now, because a lot of those soldiers are busy in Ukraine,” Rutte said. “But if that’s finished, then their huge army won’t be there simply to be a huge army.”
He urged European countries to remain vigilant about the possibility of Russian aggression even after the war in Ukraine eventually ends.
At the same time, Rutte expressed doubts that the conflict would end with a decisive victory for either side.
“I don’t think that’s very likely,” he said. “These kinds of wars always end in a peace deal, which is often a kind of compromise.”
Rutte also emphasized Europe’s critical dependence on the United States for its security. He described NATO as an important platform for projecting American power, acknowledging that Europe is not yet capable of matching that military strength on its own.
Separately, the NATO chief revealed that he had sent Donald Trump a brief message of support following the Republican Party’s defeat in the US midterm elections.
“Keep your chin up, and let’s keep going,” Rutte wrote to the US president.
Rutte also expressed “enormous admiration” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying the two speak weekly. At the same time, he stressed the importance of maintaining a good relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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