‘This Is Not the Time to Go It Alone,’ NATO’s Rutte Tells US and Europe

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during join press conference with Poland's Prime Minister after their meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during join press conference with Poland's Prime Minister after their meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
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‘This Is Not the Time to Go It Alone,’ NATO’s Rutte Tells US and Europe

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during join press conference with Poland's Prime Minister after their meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on March 26, 2025. (AFP)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during join press conference with Poland's Prime Minister after their meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on March 26, 2025. (AFP)

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned the United States and Europe on Wednesday against any temptation to "go it alone" on security, amid increased tensions over the future of the transatlantic alliance.

US President Donald Trump recently cast doubt on Washington's willingness to defend NATO allies it deemed were not paying enough for their own defense, triggering alarm among European leaders about the future of the Atlantic alliance as they face up to a more assertive Russia.

Speaking at the Warsaw School of Economics, Rutte said the US needed European countries to "step up" on security and that the alliance must become fairer.

"Let me be absolutely clear, this is not the time to go it alone. Not for Europe or North America," Rutte said.

"The global security challenges are too great for any of us to face on our own. When it comes to keeping Europe and North America safe, there is no alternative to NATO," he added.

A number of European countries including Germany and Britain have announced plans to hike defense spending as Trump seeks a rapprochement with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in his efforts to end the three-year-old Ukraine war.

Trump has previously said members of the NATO alliance should spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense – a significant increase from the current 2% target and a level that no NATO country, including the United States, currently meets.

"Yes, Europe needs to know that Uncle Sam still has our back. But America also needs to know that its NATO allies will step up," Rutte said, adding that the alliance's June summit in The Hague would prove a seminal moment in its history.

"We will begin a new chapter for our transatlantic alliance, where we build a stronger, fairer and more lethal NATO," the former Dutch prime minister said. "A fairer NATO means all allies doing their fair share."



UN Nuclear Watchdog Team in Iran for Technical Talks 

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
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UN Nuclear Watchdog Team in Iran for Technical Talks 

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)
In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

A technical team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived in Iran for talks with nuclear experts, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, as a follow up to the UN nuclear watchdog chief's visit to Tehran earlier this month.

"The delegation arrived in Iran and will hold technical talks with Iranian experts today, including on safeguards," Esmaeil Baghaei said during a weekly press conference.

Last week, Iran and the United States held a third round of nuclear talks in Oman, where technical-level negotiations were also held.

Following the conclusion of these talks, Iran's foreign minister said IAEA experts might join the next round of Iran-US nuclear talks due on Saturday.

Visiting Tehran on April 17, IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi said his agency could help achieve a positive outcome in the negotiations.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and major world powers, leading Iran to subsequently surpass that deal's uranium enrichment limits and limit the IAEA's oversight.

In February, the IAEA released a report saying the current situation is "of serious concern" as Tehran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity, near weapons grade. Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.