Overview
- Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned that Xi Jinping could seize Taiwan while Vladimir Putin simultaneously strikes NATO territories, especially the Baltic republics.
- The warning has propelled alliance discussions to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 and deepen cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners.
- Rutte highlighted that Russia is rearming at unprecedented speed, producing three times as much ammunition in three months as NATO does in a year.
- Kremlin official Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the scenario on social media, mocking Rutte’s forecast as exaggerated.
- Rutte praised President Trump’s direct talks with Putin for breaking a diplomatic deadlock but stressed that sustaining deterrence measures remains crucial.