Rutte does not support the creation of a separate European army: Putin will love it
Mark Rutte (Photo: nato.int)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte does not support the idea of creating a separate European army from the United States. According to him, this will complicate things and Russia will like it, he said before the European Parliament in Brussels, transmits Reuters.

Rutte said that supporters of a European armed forces separate from NATO can continue to "keep dreaming." According to him, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would have been "delighted" with this idea, as it would have exhausted the European armies and weakened them.

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"I think there will be a lot of duplication, and I wish you luck if you want to do it, because you need to find people in uniform – they will already be aware of what is going on. This will only complicate things. I think Putin would love that. So think again," Rutte said.

He believes that EU countries should continue to take more responsibility for their own security, but within the framework of the transatlantic alliance. According to Rutte, the United States, despite tensions with Europe over Greenland, remains "firmly committed to NATO."

He said that if Europe does want to act alone, it will cost it much more than the 5% of GDP that NATO countries have agreed to allocate to defense.

"You will have to build up your own nuclear capabilities, which will cost billions and billions of euros. In this case, you will lose... the main guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella. So, good luck to you," the NATO Secretary General summarized.

  • on January 19, Politico reported that Europe could create your own alliance instead of NATO without US participation, but with Ukraine. It could be created on the basis of a "coalition of the willing."
  • The President stated that the Ukrainian army could become a fundamental contribution into European troops.
  • According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian army is the largest and most experienced in Europe, as it has real experience in a full-scale war. Therefore, it is could become the basis for for the joint forces of Europe after the end of hostilities.