NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte downplayed U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of some alliance members on Tuesday and stated that Washington remained completely committed to NATO. In remarks to journalists in Ankara on Wednesday, ahead of the launch of the summit of NATO heads of state and governments, Rutte stated: "There is complete commitment of the United States to NATO. But hey, there's also an expectation that the Europeans and the Canadians will equalize their spending with the United States ... Which I think ... is completely fair.”
On the same day Trump arrived in the capital for the summit, the United States launched overnight strikes on Iran. Rutte said the strikes were “absolutely necessary.”
"I think it was absolutely necessary because when you have a cease-fire and Iran is basically violating the cease-fire – we see what happened yesterday with ships being attacked – I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully react," he told journalists.
