NATO chief Rutte says Türkiye is a key Ally, urges Europe to do more

Türkiye's place in the alliance

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday highlighted Türkiye's importance to the alliance, urging European allies and Canada to strengthen their defenses and step up support for Ukraine.

Rutte spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin. "Türkiye is a key Ally in NATO. You're there almost from the start. You have one of the biggest militaries in Europe. You have one of the biggest defence industrial bases in Europe. So, Türkiye, from every angle, is a key Ally and highly respected by the other 31," he said.

Asked about NATO's role in potential security guarantees for Ukraine, Rutte said European countries and the US had reached a common understanding in January at a meeting in Paris on how such guarantees should be structured. Türkiye and other key European countries were expected to play a role in the arrangements, he said, with the US providing a "clear backstop." "This is all basically done. It's there, but now of course we need a peace deal or at least a ceasefire, and that's of course what everybody is working so hard to achieve," he added.

Push for defense output and Ukraine aid

The EPC summit would focus on how European countries and Canada could stay ahead of security threats posed by Russia and its cooperation with countries including Iran, China and North Korea, Rutte said. European NATO allies and Canada were spending an additional quarter of a trillion on defense over 2025 and 2026 combined, he noted, but further efforts were necessary. "We still need to do more," he said, urging allies to expand defense industrial production and manufacture more weapons systems and military equipment.

Rutte also called for stronger support for Ukraine as winter approaches and diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia continue. European countries and Canada were making substantial contributions, he said, while the US continued to provide "crucial" military assistance financed by European allies and Canada. "Collectively, we need to do more to make sure that Ukraine can get through winter and is as strong as possible in the negotiations with Russia," he said.

Asked about reports of potential political obstacles to US deliveries of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, Rutte said shipments under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative were continuing, including air defense equipment. "All deliveries within this so-called PURL program, so this is the American gear going into Ukraine, are still continuing, including air defense," he said, confirming that Patriot systems were among the deliveries.

Hybrid threats and the Russian missile remark

Rutte warned of growing hybrid threats across Europe, including cyberattacks and arson, stressing that governments could not tackle them alone. He called for a "whole-of-society approach," urging businesses, industries and citizens to strengthen their resilience against such attacks. "You see this hybrid attacks all over Europe at the moment," he said.

Rutte also clarified earlier remarks about perceptions of the Russian threat in Portugal and Spain, saying he had no criticism of either country and welcomed their efforts to increase defense spending and industrial output. His concern, he explained, was that some Europeans might view the Russian threat as more distant than those living on NATO's eastern flank. "The only thing I'm saying is that these latest Russian missiles take five minutes longer to reach Dublin or Amsterdam or Madrid or Italy, Rome, than it takes them to reach Tallinn or Vilnius," he said.