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New NATO Chief Mark Rutte vows support for Ukraine’s path to membership in Alliance

Mark Rutte, the newly appointed Secretary General of NATO, has pledged to uphold the Alliance’s commitments to Ukraine, ensuring that its journey towards NATO membership remains irreversible.

byOlena Mukhina

01/10/2024

2 minute read

officials expect nato's new chief rutte maintain stoltenberg’s priorities mark dutch prime minister 2017

Mark Rutte as Dutch Prime Minister in 2017. Photo: Flickr/EU2017EE Estonian Presidency

New NATO Chief Mark Rutte vows support for Ukraine’s path to membership in Alliance

The new Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, has promised to fulfill the commitments made to Ukraine by the Alliance, particularly regarding the irreversibility of its path to joining NATO, reports European Pravda.

Mark Rutte, the former prime minister of the Netherlands, replaced Jens Stoltenberg as NATO Secretary General on 1 October. During his term as prime minister, the official actively supported Ukraine during the all-out war in Ukraine.

In 2023, Rutte was awarded the “Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, I Degree” for his significant personal contribution to strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands and supporting the country’s independence and territorial integrity.

Rutte announced his intention to run for NATO secretary general in October 2023. The US, the UK, German, and French governments supported his candidacy.

Today, the new head of the Alliance outlined three main priorities in his future work, noting that one will be to maintain support for Ukraine and bring it closer to NATO membership.

“There can be no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine. I know from personal experience, after the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, that the conflict in Ukraine is not limited to the front line. So we must do our part,” emphasized Rutte.

He stated that NATO must fulfill the commitments made to Ukraine at the Washington summit this past July.

“Leadership, financial promises, and Ukraine’s irreversible path to membership in the Alliance. We must maintain this support in the future because Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO,” Rutte stressed.

Earlier, the Royal Netherlands Air Force bid farewell to its last F-16 fighters with a ceremonial flyover across Dutch cities. These aircraft, retired after 45 years of service, are now slated for transfer to Ukraine, as the Dutch Ministry of Defense announced.

Netherlands retires F-16 fighters, readies them for Ukraine

Western allies decided to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighters over a year and a half ago. Since then, Kyiv has received about a dozen aircraft. Meanwhile, according to President Zelenskyy, Russia is employing around 300 fighter jets against Ukraine.

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