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Donald Trump to meet NATO chief at White House as US works on Ukraine ceasefire deal
2025-03-13 18:23:45 / BOTA
US President Donald Trump will meet with NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House today, as the US works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly questioned whether the United States will continue to defend allies that do not increase their defense spending, causing great concern as Europe faces an increasingly aggressive Russia on its doorstep.
Foreign media reports that Rutte will also try to ease recent tensions between Trump and Ukraine, after a top US negotiator arrived in Moscow to offer a ceasefire proposal following a swift U.S. turn toward Russia.
"I expect the main messages will be about how much Europe is increasing spending, how we all need to do more for defense production and welcoming progress in pursuing peace for Ukraine," Rutte's spokeswoman said.
Trump will host Rutte in the Oval Office before the pair have lunch at the White House. The NATO chief will also meet with senior Trump administration officials and members of the US Congress.
This is Rutte's first meeting with Trump since the US president began his second term on January 20 and comes at a critical time.
Trump is highly skeptical about whether the United States – by far the largest military in the transatlantic alliance and the ultimate guarantor of Europe's security since World War II – should continue in this role.
The US president's surprise decision to start talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in February over the war in Ukraine surprised and further unsettled US allies about his commitment.
He has continued to sow doubt in recent days, telling allies a week ago that "if they don't pay, I won't defend them."
Trump has previously called for allies to increase annual defense spending to five percent of GDP from the current target of two percent, which NATO expected only 23 of 32 members to meet last year.
He has also questioned whether allies would defend the United States – despite the fact that the only time NATO has invoked its Article 5 collective defense measure was after the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
NATO allies will look to Rutte, a veteran of European diplomacy, to convince Trump that the alliance is worth sticking around.
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