NATO Secretary General Rutte on Trump and Harris: I have great respect for both of them
Kyiv • UNN
The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed confidence in the continued support of Ukraine by the United States. He expressed his respect for both US presidential candidates Trump and Harris, emphasizing their understanding of the importance of helping Ukraine.
The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that he has great respect for both US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. He said this during a press conference, a correspondent of UNN reports.
"The first question is whether the support for Ukraine will continue from both Europe and the United States. And I'm absolutely optimistic about that because everybody I talk to in America, from the Republicans, from the Democrats, but also here in Europe, understands that if Russia wins in Ukraine, if Putin gets what he wants, that it would ultimately mean that our security situation is in a much more difficult state, that it means that he would get one quarter of his territory and one quarter of his population in addition, so it would have a direct impact on defense," Rutte said.
He noted that this is also about values, why NATO members help and protect Ukraine.
"I worked with Donald Trump for four years. I had close negotiations with Kamala Harris. I have great respect for both of them. I am absolutely convinced that they both see what is needed in this matter. And if we take Trump, for example, we have increased defense spending thanks to him. In particular, we accelerated defense spending after the 2018 summit, but what he said about China is now very well taken into account by many of us. Kamala Harris is the vice president and now the candidate to defend American values. So, I think it's going to be hard work on the U.S. side to make sure that we all stay united, but at the end of the day, I'm convinced that we all understand why it's necessary because our defense and our values are at stake here. So it is very fundamental," Rutte said.
Addendum
US presidential candidate Donald Trump saidthat he had a good relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was formed after the Ukrainian president helped him avoid impeachment for extorting dirt on Joe Biden.
Donald Trump has statedthat if he wins the election, his team will work to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible. He emphasized his good relations with Zelenskyy and Putin as an advantage for resolving the conflict.
