If Russia attacked NATO, reaction would be 'devastating,' says alliance chief

LONDON

If Russian President Vladimir Putin attacked NATO, the alliance's reaction would be "devastating,” the NATO chief warned Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference before a defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the issue of defense spending would top the meeting.

"We have robust plans in place to keep our one billion people safe in a more dangerous world," he said, adding that work is now underway to agree to ambitious new defense goals for NATO allies.

Many allies, especially in Europe and Canada, invest considerably more than others, he said.

The NATO chief underlined that he expects even more from allies to meet defense spending targets and in many cases, exceed the target in 2025.

Rutte also noted that during the meeting, the ministers address Russia's "ongoing campaign of destabilizing actions" against NATO allies.

Citing US President Donald Trump's statements on equalizing military support for Ukraine, now nearing the fourth year of Russia’s war on its territory, Rutte said he agrees with him that NATO allies "must equalize" security assistance to Ukraine, but added that to really change the trajectory of the conflict, "we need to do even more."

"I completely understand that the Americans want the Europeans and the Canadians to pay more," he added.

Rutte reiterated they have to make sure that Ukraine is in the best possible position when peace talks start.

"Whenever talks will start ... the peace deal, or whatever it will be, has to be durable, enduring," he added.

Asked about a new Danish intelligence report saying that Russia could start a major war in Europe within five years, Rutte said he does not want to comment on everything coming out of the intelligence community, but added that he takes such assessments "very seriously."

"Let me bring it back to what I said before, and that is that, at the moment, if Putin would attack NATO, the reaction will be devastating. He will lose … So let him not try it. And he knows this, the deterrence and defense is very strong," Rutte added.

On the Turkish defense industry, Rutte said the Turkish defense industrial base, where there are a couple of hundred organizations working on innovation, is “really impressive.”

“I know that there's a close cooperation between what you are doing in Türkiye, with other allies all over Europe and with the US, and you are really supplying some of the most important parts and sometimes end products, in terms of what the Turkish industry is producing, and we can only ask you to do more.”