NATO's future

French dissatisfaction with Mark Rutte's statements on defense

Several French politicians have expressed dissatisfaction with NATO chief Mark Rutte's statements that anyone who believes that Europe can defend itself without US help "can keep dreaming".

Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot writes on X that Europeans can and must take responsibility for their own security.

“Even the US agrees,” he writes.

Former French NATO ambassador Muriel Domenach also distances herself from Rutte’s view of Europe’s defense capacity.

“Presenting Europe as weak in order to secure guarantees from the US [...] sends the wrong signal to Russia,” she writes in a statement.

German Foreign Minister: Baltic Sea a weak point

If Russia attacks NATO, it will likely happen in the Baltic Sea region. This is what German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told SVT Nyheter.

– It is one of the weakest points in the NATO alliance, he says.

Wadephul, who met his Swedish counterpart Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) on Monday, emphasizes that NATO cooperates closely in the Baltic Sea region.