Mark Rutte is nu secretaris-generaal NAVO: 'Oekraïne is topprioriteit'

Oud-premier Rutte is de nieuwe secretaris-generaal van de NAVO. Hij volgt de Noor Stoltenberg op, die tien jaar lang leiding gaf aan de alliantie. Bij de officiële overdracht op het NAVO-hoofdkwartier in Brussel benadrukte Rutte dat hij vastbesloten was het bondgenootschap voor te bereiden op de uitdagingen van de toekomst. 

De prioriteit van Rutte in zijn nieuwe functie is het blijven verlenen van aan Oekraïne. In dit verband waarschuwde hij ervoor om niet onder de indruk te raken van Russische dreigementen voor de inzet van kernwapens. Rutte benadrukte dat hij op dit vlak geen direct gevaar ziet.

Hij riep de lidstaten van de militaire alliantie op om hun defensie-uitgaven te verhogen. De 57-jarige kondigde ook aan dat hij NAVO-partnerschappen met landen in andere delen van de wereld zou bevorderen.

Stoltenberg prijst het compromisvermogen van Rutte
Rutte's voorganger, de Noor Stoltenberg, prees zijn eerdere prestaties: Rutte had leiding gegeven aan verschillende coalitieregeringen in Nederland en wist daarbij compromissen te sluiten en consensus te creëren.

Het Kremlin in Moskou zei dat Rusland geen significante verandering in het NAVO-beleid verwacht met Rutte aan het roer.
De 32 NAVO-landen waren het in juni eens over Rutte. De verwachting is dat hij de functie minimaal vier jaar zal vervullen.

Tot zijn taken als secretaris-generaal behoren onder meer het coördineren van de militaire hulp en het bemiddelen tussen lidstaten bij geschillen. Tegen de achtergrond van de Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen in november wil Rutte de Europese leden ook voorbereiden op meer persoonlijke verantwoordelijkheid.

Rutte's eerste persconferentie in zijn nieuwe functie:

De speech:

"Good afternoon.

And I am glad to see all you here today. Brussels has one of the largest international press corps in the world and I am looking forward to be working with you.

First, I want again to express my profound gratitude to Jens Stoltenberg for the tremendous job he has done in the past ten years. Few leaders of this Alliance faced a more challenging geopolitical environment.

But Jens steered us through difficult times with a steady hand. He played a big part in making today’s NATO stronger than ever, and he leaves behind an enduring legacy. I also want to thank the 32 Allies for their trust and confidence, for choosing me as his successor. I am deeply honoured to serve as Secretary General of NATO – the most successful political-military Alliance in history.

But NATO Allies face serious challenges. And we have work to do. At the Washington Summit, Allies set a clear course towards a safer world for the 1 billion people we serve. Now it is my job to ensure that we collectively implement these decisions and continue to adapt our Alliance to a more complex world.  All 32 Allies have their unique role to play. And there is nothing we cannot achieve together.

I have three priorities:

Ensure we have the capabilities to protect against any threat;
Support Ukraine in fighting back against Russian aggression; and
Addressing the growing global challenges to Euro-Atlantic security.

First, on our military capabilities.

NATO’s core mission is to ensure our collective deterrence and defence. Over the past decade, we have made tremendous progress in ensuring we have the forces and capabilities to deter and defend against any threat, from any direction. But we must go further and faster to meet enormous challenge ahead.

We need more, better equipped forces;
A more robust transatlantic defence industry;
Increased defence production capacity;
Greater investment in innovation; and
Secure supply chains.

Allies are already stepping up, with plans to acquire thousands of air defence and artillery systems; many hundreds of modern aircraft, mostly 5th generation F-35s; as well as substantial high-end capabilities. But to truly match our capabilities with our needs, we need significantly more defence spending. I will work with Allies to ensure that we invest enough, in the right areas, and that we shoulder the burden for our collective defence equitably. We must each pay our fair share.

My next priority is support for Ukraine. I have travelled to Ukraine several times in recent years.

To Odessa, Kyiv, Bucha, Borodianka, and Kharkiv, close to the Russian border…Where I witnessed first-hand the brutality of Russia’s war of aggression, And the bravery of Ukraine’s people in their fight for freedom. Supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do. And it is also an investment in our own security. Because an independent and democratic Ukraine is vital for peace and stability in Europe. And the cost of supporting Ukraine is far, far lower than the cost we would face if we allow Putin to get his way.

I know from personal experience, with the downing of flight MH17, how the conflict in Ukraine is not contained to the frontlines. It was a tragedy that shook my country ten years ago. One that must never be repeated.

At the Washington Summit, Allies agreed a support package for Ukraine, including with a NATO command, a long-term financial pledge, and an irreversible path to membership. I will work with Allies to ensure that we fully implement our decisions and that we continue to bring Ukraine ever closer to NATO. 

NATO’s focus must remain, obviously, on Euro-Atlantic security, keeping our 1 billion people safe.
But the threats we face are increasingly global. Therefore I will deepen our partnerships with like-minded nations, near and far, that share our values.

The European Union is NATO’s unique and essential partner. There is potential to boost our cooperation in many areas, from supporting Ukraine to countering hybrid threats. We will also increase our engagement with partners across the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel regions to foster stability in our Southern neighbourhood. 

We must do more to counter the threat of terrorism to our nations and our populations.
And, further afield, we will enhance cooperation with our Indo-Pacific partners.

Through its support for Russia’s military industry, China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war in Ukraine. China cannot continue to fuel the largest conflict in Europe since the second world war without this impacting its interests and reputation. Russia is also receiving support from North Korea and Iran that allows it to sustain its illegal war.

Later this month, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea are participating in a NATO Defence Ministerial for the first time. I look forward to welcoming them and forging a shared approach to our shared challenges.

Finally, I want to thank all the men and women in uniform serving our Alliance. You put into practice the defence of our freedoms every day, often at great risk to yourselves.

Thank you for your service.

I look forward to working with all of you. And I cannot wait to get started.

And with that, I am ready for your questions."

Het transcript van de persconferentie en de gestelde vragen is hier te lezen.