BRUSSELS (ALETIHAD)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Tuesday said the alliance is taking steps to strengthen its ties with the Middle East and other parts of the southern neighbourhood, including Africa, as part of its strategic engagements.
Rutte’s remarks came during a press conference ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, where discussions will focus on support for Ukraine and partnerships with the Middle East, among other issues.
Rutte said NATO must maintain an active presence in the region “by building bilateral relations, by helping out when that is necessary, like we are doing through the mission in Iraq”, where the alliance assists in developing the country’s national defence forces.
“It is crucial that we have those strong relations with the Gulf countries as well,” the NATO chief added.
On developments in the Middle East, he said NATO is “very concerned about what is happening” in the region, emphasising the importance of deepening the alliance’s ties in the southern neighbourhood and gradually making them stronger.
Discussing the situation, Rutte said the priority is to strengthen the country’s position in any future peace talks with Russia by delivering more weapons.
“We have to make sure that Ukraine gets into a position of strength, and then it should be for the Ukrainian government to decide on the next steps, in terms of opening peace talks and how to conduct them,” he said.
At the 2024 NATO summit in Washington in July, leaders of member countries reaffirmed that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to membership.
They pledged to continue supporting Ukraine at the same level as they have since Russia's invasion, committing a minimum of €40 billion ($43 billion) for the next year.