NATO’s New Secretary General Is Expected To Be Tougher With President Putin

By Girish Linganna

On Wednesday (June 26), NATO selected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as its new leader. This decision comes amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and uncertainties about the future role of the United States in the alliance, according to reports from Reuters and AFP.

Rutte’s selection was finalized after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, his only competitor, withdrew from the race last week because he could not gather enough support. Rutte strengthened his campaign to become NATO’s new leader last year by co-leading an international coalition that will provide F-16 fighters to Ukraine and train Ukrainian pilots.

Rutte will begin his new role on October 1, taking over from Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, who has held the position for 10 years. Rutte has been a strong critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a firm supporter of Ukraine. He has gained extensive experience in political negotiations during his almost 14 years as the Dutch prime minister. At 57, Rutte has played a key role in pushing for Europe’s military support for Ukraine since Russia invaded it in 2022. He believes defeating Moscow on the battlefield is essential for achieving peace in Europe.

Rutte’s perspective is strongly shaped by the 2014 downing of an airliner over Ukraine with 196 Dutch victims among the 298 killed, an incident the Netherlands holds Russia responsible for. He emphasised that NATO should be strong enough to challenge Moscow and warned other European Union leaders against naivete about Putin’s Russia, according to the South China Morning Post.

In September 2022, seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Rutte had told the United Nations, that if they did not stop Putin right away, he would not stop at Ukraine. This war was about more than just Ukraine; it was about upholding international law.

Rutte became the Dutch prime minister in 2010 and, eventually, the longest-serving one before announcing last year that he would leave national politics. After the MH17 flight, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was struck by a Buk missile and shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, he shifted from focusing mainly on domestic issues to becoming a key player in the EU, significantly influencing discussions on immigration, debt and the Covid-19 response.

Under his leadership, the Netherlands has boosted its defence budget to meet the NATO requirement of spending over 2% of its GDP. The country has supplied F-16 fighter jets, artillery, drones and ammunition to Kyiv, while also making significant investments in its own military.

Rutte strongly supports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he remembered meeting in Kyiv five years ago. In his final months in office, Rutte also signed a 10-year security agreement with Ukraine, ensuring Dutch support despite criticism from far-Right leader and election winner Geert Wilders. Rutte has built strong connections with different leaders from the UK and the US.

Many people think he was especially good at working with US President Donald Trump, who is running for re-election. Rutte, who is known as ‘The Trump Whisperer’ for his skill in handling former US President Donald Trump, is often praised for saving a 2018 NATO summit by persuading Trump on defence spending and displayed typical Dutch straightforwardness by openly disagreeing with the president in the Oval Office.

In a moment that later went viral, Trump said it would be “positive” whether or not the EU and the US reached a trade deal. Rutte, who was visiting, laughed and interrupted, saying, “No! It’s not positive. We need to figure something out.” This experience might be important because the possibility of Trump returning has worried NATO leaders. The former president had previously questioned whether the US would help defend other members if they were attacked.

At last year’s Munich Security Conference, Rutte advised leaders to stop “complaining about Trump” and focus on increasing their spending on defence and ammunition production, no matter who wins the US election.

Rutte believed Zelensky had a mission and that Ukraine’s advancement was largely due to his mindset. On Wednesday, June 26, Kyiv congratulated Rutte on his appointment, while Russian forces reported steady progress in eastern Ukraine.

At the same time, despite cautioning about the threat from Putin, he indicated that the Russian supremo might not be as powerful as he seemed. Kremlin, however, has stated that Rutte’s new role would not change equations for Russia and NATO was still an enemy. (IPA Service)