Rutte: Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO
Ukraine should become a NATO member and receive all the assistance promised by its partners.
This was stated by the new NATO Secretary Mark Rutte on Tuesday in Brussels at NATO headquarters, having assumed the post of the organisation's secretary general, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax-Ukraine.
"My second priority is to strengthen our support for Ukraine and bring it even closer to NATO. Because there can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine," Rutte outlined his priorities.
He noted that he knows from personal experience, when flight MH17 was shot down in 2014, that "the conflict in Ukraine is not limited to the front line.
So we have to do our part. We have to deliver on the package agreed at the summit in Washington - command, control, financial promises and Ukraine's irreversible path to membership. We must ensure this support in the future, because Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO," the NATO Secretary General said.
Rutte also intends to work to "keep NATO strong and ensure that our defences remain effective and incredible against all threats". "To do that, we need more forces with better capabilities and faster innovation. It requires more investment because to do more, we have to spend more. There is no free alternative if we are to meet the challenges ahead and keep our one billion people safe," he explained.
His third priority is to strengthen partnerships with "our unique and important partner, the European Union, and with countries around the world that share our interests and values".
"I have inherited a strong alliance. My dear friend Jens, thank you. Dear colleagues, I have every intention of continuing the good work you have initiated in recent years, and I am determined to prepare NATO for the challenges of the future," Rutte said.
As reported earlier, Mark Rutte officially becomes the new Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance on 1 October.
Rutte said that Ukraine would be at the top of his list of priorities.
