NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte urged European Union parliament that Europe must raise defence spending by up to 10% and consider acquiring its own nuclear capabilities. He said the continent cannot secure its security without U.S. support and called for European states to invest billions of euros in defence. Rutte highlighted that the U.S. will maintain a strong conventional presence in Europe and praised former U.S. President Donald Trump for helping NATO reach the 2% of GDP defence target by 2025. He criticised European countries such as Spain, Italy, Belgium and Canada for not boosting their budgets without U.S. pressure. Rutte also discussed stalled peace talks between Ukraine and Russia over Donbas, stressed that only Ukraine can decide on a territorial compromise, and denied that Washington would use Ukraine to gain advantages over NATO on Greenland. He rejected the idea of a European alternative to NATO without U.S. involvement, warning that such a move would delight Russian President Vladimir Putin. The remarks were made in Brussels before European Parliament members.

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