Ruptly
"NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on European allies to end their 'over-reliance' on the United States for security guarantees on Thursday, as concerns grow over planned reductions in US military commitments across Europe. "You cannot have a situation where around 600 million people have to defend themselves against a country with 120 to 140 million people […] and cannot do that without having an over-reliance on another country of 350 million people,”"Rutte said, speaking alongside Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the Civil Defence and Resilience Agency training centre in Revinge. "So it's right that we rebalance this for the US also to be able to pivot more towards other theatres," he added, emphasising that NATO members must significantly increase defence production and spending ahead of the upcoming alliance summit in Ankara. The NATO chief stressed that Europe must strengthen its own defence capabilities while recognising that transatlantic security remains interconnected, arguing that protecting NATO’s northern flank, particularly in Norway, is essential for the defence of the US mainland from Russian nuclear submarines. Rutte’s remarks come as Washington prepares to inform allies of plans to reduce troop commitments under NATO’s global force model, including withdrawing around 5,000 troops from Germany and delaying a planned deployment of 4,000 rotational troops to Poland. For his part, Kristersson said that Sweden was committed to rapidly increasing military spending and estimated Stockholm would meet NATO’s five percent defence spending target by 2030. "We take our responsibilities as a NATO ally very seriously, with a strong sense of urgency and solidarity," he said. The two leaders also addressed regional security concerns linked to the war in Ukraine and recent drone incidents in the Baltic region. Responding to Russian accusations that Latvia was somehow involved in Ukrainian drone activity, Rutte dismissed the claims as ‘totally ridiculous.’ "It's a matter of jamming, sometimes it's a matter of other disturbances," Kristersson said. "We should really not be open for the Russian narrative on this, but instead, of course, help the Ukrainians as much as we can," he stressed. The NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Helsingborg on May 21-22 is expected to focus on defence investment, military production, supply chains and continued support for Ukraine ahead of the Ankara Summit."
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