NATO's future

Rutte: Confident that the US fully supports us

NATO chief Mark Rutte says he is completely convinced that the US fully supports its commitments to the alliance. He says this ahead of the final day of the NATO summit in The Hague, reports AFP.

- For me, there is no doubt that the US will fully honor Article Five, says Rutte.

However, he also states that the European countries and Canada must increase their defense investments to match what the US is investing.

US President Donald Trump did not want to give a clear answer ahead of the meeting on how he views Article Five, which states that NATO countries are obliged to defend each other in the event of an attack.

- It is a question of definition. There are a number of definitions of Article Five, Trump said during an interview on Air Force One.

- And I will give you an exact definition when I get there. I do not want to do it on board an airplane, he added, according to TT.

NATO chief: Five percent target will be hammered

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says that NATO will vote unanimously to raise the demands on member countries' defense spending to five percent of GDP, Reuters reports.

Rutte has steered the entire NATO summit in The Hague towards circling around the five percent target, in order to meet demands from Donald Trump, Bloomberg reports.

Several countries have reacted to the increased spending demands. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says it is "important and necessary", while Spain is the only country that has managed to negotiate an exemption.

Rutte "perfectly okay" with Trump sharing his text message

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, says he has no problem with Donald Trump sharing their text message conversation on social media, reports TT.

- What is in the message is true. It is a statement of facts. And it is perfect for me that he shared it, he says upon arriving at the meeting today.

It was when Rutte sent a message praising Trump's "decisive intervention in Iran", that the American president shared the post on Truth Social.