TOPIC

/ people

Mark Rutte

The latest news on Mark Rutte, Dutch politician and Secretary General of NATO, including global politics and diplomacy news.

Born

14 Feb 1967

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Politician

The White House says US President Donald Trump is ‘open’ to meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP

Ukraine war

Trump could meet Putin over Ukraine war as soon as next week

A Trump-Putin meeting could be followed by a trilateral involving the Russian leader and Zelensky.

7 Aug 2025 - 4:01PM

Ukraine war

Netherlands first to buy ‘badly needed’ US arms for Ukraine under Nato scheme

5 Aug 2025 - 4:55PMvideocam

Ukraine war

US, Nato seek to supply Ukraine with weapons paid for by allies

2 Aug 2025 - 1:48PM

My Take

My Take | Europe being run into the ground by amateurs and ideologues

Subservient to the United States while being antagonistic to China, the EU-Nato axis is guaranteed to end up with the worst of both worlds.

30 Jul 2025 - 9:30PM

Xi Jinping meets with President of the European Council Antonio Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the 25th China-EU Summit held in Beijing, China, on July 24. Photo: Xinhua

European Union

Opinion | The EU is doing itself no trade favours in pushing China on Russia

Tensions serve the interests of neither side; for the EU, they won’t help tackle the trade deficit or ease critical Chinese supplies.

16 Jul 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Russia

Russia’s Medvedev scoffs at Trump’s Ukraine ultimatum, but Kremlin to analyse

Russia’s ex-president dismissed Trump’s 100 per cent tariff threat as a ‘theatrical ultimatum’, while the Kremlin said it was ‘very serious’, needing Putin’s analysis.

16 Jul 2025 - 3:15PMvideocam

United States

Trump threatens Russia with 100% ‘secondary’ tariffs if no deal on Ukraine

In meeting with Nato chief, US president also vows to send more weapons to the bloc in support of Kyiv.

15 Jul 2025 - 4:25AMvideocam

US President Donald Trump has expressed disappointment in Russian leader Vladimir Putin and threatened tariffs if Putin does not come to a deal with Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

Ukraine war

Zelensky talks air defence in ‘productive’ meeting with US envoy

US special envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv just a day after Trump announced new Patriot air defence system supplies to Ukraine.

14 Jul 2025 - 8:55PMvideocam

Ukraine war

Trump pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine, says Nato will pay

The comments mark a shift in his approach to the war and come as his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued aggression has grown.

14 Jul 2025 - 12:07PM

Ukraine war

US senators aim to arm Trump with ‘sledgehammer’ sanctions against Russia

Trump has indicated he would be open to the sanctions bill as relations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin grow increasingly frosty.

14 Jul 2025 - 6:44AMvideocam

US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AP

European Union

Outside In | Europe’s vow to Trump to push defence budget to 5% rings hollow

Amid voter defiance and record debt, anyone who believes the governments will find an extra US$2.7 trillion by 2035 is living in dreamland.

4 Jul 2025 - 4:30PMvideocam

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump posing for photos with other Nato leaders during the summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25. Photo: Reuters

China-EU relations

After Nato chaos, ‘irrelevant’ Europe shambles towards China summit

Muddled plans and pandering to Trump left Europe looking like a much less serious global player, observers say.

29 Jun 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Japan

Japanese angered by Trump’s Iran strike comparison to atomic bombings

Donald Trump’s comments have been slammed as ‘unacceptable’ by officials of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and survivors of the 1945 bombings.

29 Jun 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

US-China relations

What key Nato summit absences reveal about Indo-Pacific worries

No-shows by regional leaders at this year’s gathering suggest growing anxiety about US commitments in the region, experts say.

28 Jun 2025 - 10:00AM

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a summit press briefing in the Netherlands, on Tuesday. The absence of other Indo-Pacific leaders in the region signaled anxiety about waning US commitment to the region, experts say. Photo: EPA

Diplomacy

My Take | Nato chief calls Trump ‘daddy’ as he makes Beijing the bogeyman

Rutte needs to hype the ‘China threat’ to justify Nato nations boosting military spending, returning the welfare state to the warfare state.

28 Jun 2025 - 7:19AMvideocam

Donald Trump

Nato chief Rutte defends flattery of Trump, who he called ‘daddy’

Nato secretary general likened the US president to a ‘daddy’ in the Israel-Iran conflict.

27 Jun 2025 - 5:42PM

Nato

Nato leaders agree to 5% defence spending goal in annual summit

Alliance to ‘reaffirm’ support for Ukraine, pledged ‘ironclad commitment to collective defence’ under Article 5.

26 Jun 2025 - 6:59PMvideocam

Britain

UK to reintroduce nuclear weapon-capable aircraft under Nato

UK to purchase 12 F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.

25 Jun 2025 - 1:06PM

A US-made F-35A Lightning jet fighter at the International Paris Air Show. Photo: EPA-EFE

Donald Trump

‘Dear Donald’: Trump airs Nato chief’s gushing private message

Mark Rutte exposed as flatterer-in-chief in private message to the US president.

25 Jun 2025 - 12:01PM

Donald Trump

Trump rattles Nato allies as he descends on summit

The US president refused to commit to the alliance’s mutual defence vow, as Washington warns it may shift focus to the threat from China.

25 Jun 2025 - 8:45AM

Nato

Stop worrying about US and carry on, Nato chief tells Europe and Canada

Mark Rutte says the Americans are ‘with us’ and other bloc members need to focus on their military investment plans.

25 Jun 2025 - 1:48AMvideocam

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte addresses a press conference a day prior to a meeting of the alliance in The Hague on Tuesday. Photo:AFP

Israel-Iran conflict

Iran approves general plan to suspend cooperation with IAEA

Iran said submitting reports to the UN nuclear watchdog is suspended while the security of nuclear facilities is not guaranteed.

24 Jun 2025 - 4:44AMvideocam

The Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organisation’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Photo: Reuters

Nato

Beijing’s ‘massive’ build-up raises threat of Taiwan Strait conflict: Nato chief

Its enlarged military presence could draw in Russia and thus European forces into the fray, secretary general warns ahead of summit.

24 Jun 2025 - 2:06AMvideocam

Canada

Canada raises defence spending to hit Nato targets amid tariff row: Carney

The new spending comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney tries to reach a deal with the White House to lower or remove tariffs on Canadian goods.

22 Jun 2025 - 8:05PM

Nato

Nato allies must lift military spending to more than 3.5% of GDP, US Senate told

Testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee comes ahead of the summit next week for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders.

19 Jun 2025 - 5:32AMvideocam

US-China relations

Breaking with G7 stance, Trump says he’d welcome China and Russia in bloc

US leader calls Kremlin’s 2014 expulsion ‘a big mistake’ and considering Beijing ‘not a bad idea’ as summit starts in Canada.

17 Jun 2025 - 5:54AM

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (right) with US President Donald Trump after officially welcoming the American leader to the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on Monday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

My Take

My Take | Hey, Nato boss man, keep your hands off the Asia-Pacific region

The West’s unspoken assumption is that Asians cannot be trusted to manage their own affairs, at least when Western interests are involved.

11 Jun 2025 - 9:00PM

China-EU relations

Nato chief says it must build Indo-Pacific ties to meet China’s military challenge

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte contends that Euro-Atlantic security ‘is all interconnected with what is happening in the Pacific’.

10 Jun 2025 - 6:21AMvideocam

Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.

SUPPORT NOW