Nato’s Secretary General today sharpened his language significantly over the nuclear threat of a Russia-North Korean collaboration.
After Pyongyang recently sent more than 10,000 troops to aid Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, Mark Rutte said: “We should not be naive” as he warned about the possibility that “nuclear technology and missile technology is flowing into North Korea.”
Speaking candidly after a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Brussels, he added: “And therefore, it is a risk now that North Korea will use it not only to be a threat to us here, but also to to the US mainland and of course to the region.”
Again mentioning America specifically was seen as a message directly aimed at incoming president Donald Trump – who had said he will end the war in Ukraine by striking a deal with Vladimir Putin.
But there are widespread fears that this would involve Ukraine ceding land already taken by Russian troops – something Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky has ruled unacceptable.
It is the second time this week Mr Rutte has spoken out on the issue, warning that forcing Kyiv into a poor peace treaty with Russia will only embolden Iran and China.
Earlier this week, Nato’s Secretary-General again cautioned against Mr Trump’s plans for a quick peace deal, which he said would lead to the West’s enemies “high fiving” and plotting their own attacks.
“We cannot have a situation where we have Kim Jong-un and the Russian leader and Xi Jinping and Iran high-fiving because we came to a deal which is not good for Ukraine,” he said.
“Long-term, that will be a dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the US.”
Mr Rutte, who met Mr Trump and his foreign policy team on Nov 23 to discuss a “range of global security issues facing the alliance,” said he had warned the president-elect about a sharp end to the war during their discussion.
The western alliance chief, who took office in October, added that there were deep military and economic ties between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran with money and weapons changing hands, fuelling the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“The fact that Iran, North Korea, China and Russia are working so closely together…[means] these various parts of the world where conflict is…are more and more getting connected,” he said.
The Nato chief stressed that there must instead be a “good deal” for Ukraine when the time comes to negotiate with Russia, and he called for the US to continue military support in the meantime.
But experts have warned it is impossible to predict what the incoming American President – who takes office in January and has had an ambiguous relationship with Putin – might do.
Mr Trump has promised to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine, and his allies have suggested he may lean on Kyiv to offer territory to Russia in exchange for a ceasefire.
However, supporters of Ukraine – including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – have argued that the West must continue to supply arms to help Kyiv defend itself.
And Mr Rutte’s interventions suggest Nato and other Western countries may try to convince Mr Trump to continue US support for Ukraine by arguing that it is in America’s interests to do so.
Several of Mr Trump’s top team have said they believe Ukraine is a European problem, and that the US’s focus should be on China and Iran.
Mr Rutte’s attempt to connect global issues may prove persuasive, despite opposition to high levels of military spending on Ukraine within the Republican Party.
Mr Trump has already called on Nato members to increase domestic military spending to 3 per cent of GDP, a 50 per cent boost from its current level.
