NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrives in Germany on Monday, November 4. Picture: NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has visited Italy and Germany earlier this week to rally support for the alliance – and for Ukraine.
His first official visit was to Berlin on Monday (November 4) to thank Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Germany’s significant contributions to the alliance and its support for Ukraine.
“Germany now invests 2 percent of its GDP in defence for the first time in three decades. This is important for Germany and for NATO,” he said.
The Secretary General highlighted Germany’s contributions to NATO, including stationing a full brigade in Lithuania and the opening of naval headquarters in Rostock, to help protect trade and supply routes in the Baltic Sea.
Rutte also warned of more frequent Russian hybrid attacks against allies of the alliance.
“The shifting frontline in this war is no longer solely within Ukraine,” he says, adding that Russia is interfering directly in other countries, sabotaging industry and committing violence.
“All of this to weaken us and to sow divisions but NATO stands ready to deter and defend against these threats,” he said.
He also met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
ITALIAN JOB
On Tuesday (November 5), Rutte visited Italy to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.
“Keeping our one billion people safe is NATO’s most sacred duty, and that is why we are ramping up our defence industrial capacity,” he said.
“We need to go further and faster, for our own deterrence and to support Ukraine.”
He highlighted Italy’s lead of NATO’s new battlegroup in Bulgaria, its contributions to NATO’s deployments in Hungary and Latvia and the deployment of its jet fighters to protect airspace and keep seaways open.
“Italy is once again leading our peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, helping to foster stability in the Western Balkans,” Rutte said.
He thanked PM Meloni “for being such a strong supporter of Ukraine”.
Rutte says NATO “will continue to stand by Ukraine because Ukraine’s fight is our fight” and welcomed Italy’s strong support for a stronger plan for the southern region of the alliance.
He also inspected the Italian facilities of defence manufacturing group Rheinmetall during his visit.
Rutte with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday, November 5. Picture: NATO
