Rubio, NATO Allies Express ‘Overwhelming’ Support for Ukraine, Urge Russia to Commit to Peace
BRUSSELS – The top US diplomat and his NATO counterparts on Thursday expressed overwhelming support for Ukraine and President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war, while also recognizing that Russia needs to do more, a senior State Department official told reporters Thursday night, wrapping up the first day of NATO Foreign Ministerial meetings in Brussels, Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent, currently traveling with Secretary Marco Rubio, reports.
“Russia has not demonstrated a commitment to the ceasefire yet, and a number of allies raised that point,” the senior official said, following a day-long series of discussions in various settings, including the NATO-Ukraine Council session, in which Rubio participated for the first time.
The allies also discussed the need for increased defense contributions. The US emphasized the importance of NATO’s collective security and the expansion of its defense industrial base, the official said. Specifically, some allies have committed to a 5% defense spending target, though no deadlines were announced.
Rubio’s first visit to the NATO headquarters came as relations between the US and Europe have abruptly soured amid President Donald Trump’s imposition of new global tariffs. European allies have also been anxiously seeking details for weeks on Washington’s plans to reduce its engagement in NATO, so that they could better coordinate the process of a European defense ramp-up to avoid security gaps in the continent.
“The United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been,” Rubio, standing next to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, told reporters. He went on to decry “hysteria and hyperbole” in the media about Donald Trump’s intentions, as he put it, despite persistent signals from Washington that NATO as it has existed for 75 years may no longer be relevant.
Rubio added that Trump “is against a NATO that does not have the capabilities that it needs to fulfill the obligations that the treaty imposes upon each and every member state.”
When asked by Kyiv Post about the US position on the European push to buy weapons locally, a senior State Department official said: “What we’ve stressed is that there shouldn’t be any restrictions on procurement.”
Yet some European allies are deeply concerned by Trump’s rhetorical attacks and insults against allies like Canada and Denmark.
Rubio and Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen met on the sidelines of the Ministerial, where Rubio reaffirmed the strong relationship between the two countries, according to the State Department readout of the meeting.
“They discussed shared priorities including increasing NATO defense spending and burden sharing, and addressing the threats to the Alliance, including those posed by Russia and China. They also reviewed ongoing coordination to enhance stability and security in Europe and to secure an enduring peace in Ukraine,” Rubio’s spokesperson Tammy Bruce noted.
Asked how the US navigated the differences between its policy and that of Europeans regarding support for Ukraine, a senior State Department official asserted that there was no broad divide between the allies in that respect and that the support for Ukraine’s position was clear.
“Most of the members recognize that Ukraine is committed to a ceasefire and a broader peace,” the official emphasized.
Source: Alex Raufoglu