Rutte: Russian Missiles Just Minutes Away, Ukraine Needs Better Guarantees

On September 2, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held a joint press conference with Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Defense Minister Yuriko Bakkes, where they discussed current challenges for NATO and the future settlement of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform.

Mark Rutte expressed serious concern about suspicions of Russian GPS jamming, which affected the plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

He insisted that NATO was “working day and night to counter this, to prevent this, and to make sure that they will not do it again.”

Rutte highlighted a series of high-profile incidents in Europe, including the blocking of commercial aircraft, the assassination attempt on a major industrialist, and a cyberattack on the UK’s national health system. He stressed that these events cannot be considered minor threats.

In addition, the NATO Secretary General confirmed his awareness of the long-term Russian threat to the Euro-Atlantic region. He stressed that a secure Europe and Atlantic are key to the security of the US itself.

“And after the NATO summit and the commitment to 5% defense spending, including 3.5% on core defense elements, this commitment is absolutely, in every sense, confirmed,” Rutte said.

Rutte also called for active strengthening of security measures across the continent, emphasizing that “the threat from the Russians is increasing every day.”

“And the latest Russian missile technology, for example, the difference now between Lithuania on the frontline, and Luxembourg, The Hague or Madrid is 5 to 10 minutes,” he added.

In addition, NATO Secretary General stressed during a press conference that when formulating security guarantees for Ukraine, allies must take into account the lessons of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and the 2014 Minsk agreements. He pointed out the need to create mechanisms to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine or NATO countries in the future.

Rutte noted that discussions on security guarantees are at an early stage, but it is positive that the US is ready to take an active part in providing them.

“After all, he (Trump – ed.) represents more than 50% of NATO, 25% of the world economy, currently the strongest army, and he has a personal desire to end this war, to stop the bloodshed,” he said.

The NATO Secretary General explained that the process of concluding security guarantees and a peaceful settlement will be lengthy. Currently, the allies are working on two key areas: organizing negotiations between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia and coordinating with Europe and the US on either a long-term ceasefire or a full-fledged peace agreement.

As The Gaze informed earlier, the European leaders are set to convene in Paris on September 4 to advance high-level discussions on potential security guarantees for Ukraine.