٠٠:٠٦:١٧Mandatory credit: NATO TV
New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he 'cannot wait to work' as he officially took over from Jens Stoltenberg at a handover ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday.
"I cannot wait to work and thank you for the friendship after all these years," he told his predecessor. "We started to work together at the NATO table in Lisbon in 2010 at the NATO Summit. We were both prime ministers then and we continued to work on security issues ever since."
Rutte said that NATO was 'now bigger', 'stronger' and 'more united than ever'. Under Stoltenberg's tenure, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden swelled the alliance to 32 members.
He added that "we have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent and democratic nation" and that "we have to spend more".
Rutte admitted that NATO had 'no specific role' in the escalation between Israel and Lebanon although Stoltenberg said the alliance was 'of course, deeply concerned' and that countries should "support the efforts of NATO allies to find a way to de-escalate and find a political solution" in both Lebanon and Gaza.
Asked about his relationship with Donald Trump ahead of a potential second term for the Republican candidate, Rutte admitted "he was the one pushing us to spend more and he achieved because indeed, at the moment, we are now at a much higher spending level than we were when he took office in early 2017.
"And, he was also pushing us on China. And I think he was right. Of course, Kamala Harris has a fantastic record as Vice President. She's a highly respected leader, so I will be able to work with both, whatever is the outcome of the elections," he said.
Trump famously said that he had warned allies that he would 'encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the hell they want' to countries that didn't pay their share. He has also promised to fix the Ukraine-Russia conflict before his inauguration.
'I cannot wait to work' - Rutte takes over as NATO chief, says Ukraine's 'rightful place' is in alliance
New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he 'cannot wait to work' as he officially took over from Jens Stoltenberg at a handover ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday.
"I cannot wait to work and thank you for the friendship after all these years," he told his predecessor. "We started to work together at the NATO table in Lisbon in 2010 at the NATO Summit. We were both prime ministers then and we continued to work on security issues ever since."
Rutte said that NATO was 'now bigger', 'stronger' and 'more united than ever'. Under Stoltenberg's tenure, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden swelled the alliance to 32 members.
He added that "we have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent and democratic nation" and that "we have to spend more".
Rutte admitted that NATO had 'no specific role' in the escalation between Israel and Lebanon although Stoltenberg said the alliance was 'of course, deeply concerned' and that countries should "support the efforts of NATO allies to find a way to de-escalate and find a political solution" in both Lebanon and Gaza.
Asked about his relationship with Donald Trump ahead of a potential second term for the Republican candidate, Rutte admitted "he was the one pushing us to spend more and he achieved because indeed, at the moment, we are now at a much higher spending level than we were when he took office in early 2017.
"And, he was also pushing us on China. And I think he was right. Of course, Kamala Harris has a fantastic record as Vice President. She's a highly respected leader, so I will be able to work with both, whatever is the outcome of the elections," he said.
Trump famously said that he had warned allies that he would 'encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the hell they want' to countries that didn't pay their share. He has also promised to fix the Ukraine-Russia conflict before his inauguration.
Mandatory credit: NATO TV
New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he 'cannot wait to work' as he officially took over from Jens Stoltenberg at a handover ceremony in Brussels on Tuesday.
"I cannot wait to work and thank you for the friendship after all these years," he told his predecessor. "We started to work together at the NATO table in Lisbon in 2010 at the NATO Summit. We were both prime ministers then and we continued to work on security issues ever since."
Rutte said that NATO was 'now bigger', 'stronger' and 'more united than ever'. Under Stoltenberg's tenure, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Finland and Sweden swelled the alliance to 32 members.
He added that "we have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent and democratic nation" and that "we have to spend more".
Rutte admitted that NATO had 'no specific role' in the escalation between Israel and Lebanon although Stoltenberg said the alliance was 'of course, deeply concerned' and that countries should "support the efforts of NATO allies to find a way to de-escalate and find a political solution" in both Lebanon and Gaza.
Asked about his relationship with Donald Trump ahead of a potential second term for the Republican candidate, Rutte admitted "he was the one pushing us to spend more and he achieved because indeed, at the moment, we are now at a much higher spending level than we were when he took office in early 2017.
"And, he was also pushing us on China. And I think he was right. Of course, Kamala Harris has a fantastic record as Vice President. She's a highly respected leader, so I will be able to work with both, whatever is the outcome of the elections," he said.
Trump famously said that he had warned allies that he would 'encourage' Russia 'to do whatever the hell they want' to countries that didn't pay their share. He has also promised to fix the Ukraine-Russia conflict before his inauguration.