Mark Rutte | DD News

April 9, 2026 10:35 PM

NATO’s Rutte told allies Trump wants Hormuz commitments within days, diplomats say

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has briefed some capitals that U.S. President Donald Trump wants concrete commitments within the next few days for help securing the Strait of Hormuz, three European diplomats told Reuters on Thursday. Rutte met with Trump in Washington on Wednesday, amid tensions within the alliance over the Iran war. "The Secretary General is in contact with Allies about his discussions in Washington," NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said on Thursday. "It’s clear that the U...

January 23, 2026 3:00 PM

Denmark, NATO seek to boost Arctic security amid Greenland crisis

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Friday she had agreed with NATO chief Mark Rutte that the alliance needs to boost security in the Arctic following weeks of turmoil over U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland. The governments of Denmark and Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory, insist that sovereignty over the island is not up for discussion, but have said they are open to talks on a wide range of other topics. Trump said on Thursday he had secured to...

October 13, 2025 4:53 PM

NATO chief mocks ‘broken’ Russian submarine as Moscow denies malfunction

NATO chief Mark Rutte mocked Russia on Monday over the "limping" condition of one of its submarines as Russian authorities denied it had been forced to surface because of technical problems. Russia's Black Sea Fleet said the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk had surfaced off France to comply with navigation rules in the English Channel, and rejected reports it had suffered a serious malfunction. But Dutch authorities said at the weekend that the submarine was under tow in the North Sea. An...

September 26, 2025 6:51 PM

‘Factually incorrect, entirely baseless’: India rejects NATO chief’s claim on PM Modi-Putin phone call

India on Friday firmly dismissed remarks made by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on a purported conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "factually incorrect and entirely baseless." The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that no such discussion had ever taken place and urged NATO leadership to act with greater caution. India criticised the remarks after Rutte suggested that PM Modi had sought clarifications from Putin on Russia's war...

June 9, 2025 1:59 PM

NATO needs 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte will say in London

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London on Monday to say the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month. Rutte is pushing for members to boost defence spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a 5% target. Last month, he said he assumed that target would be agreed at the summit on ...

January 21, 2025 12:14 AM

International reaction to Trump’s inauguration

The following is reaction from global leaders to Donald Trump being sworn in as U.S. president on Monday. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT "President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is the top priority." BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER "I believe that working together again we will raise the U.S.-Israel alliance to even greate...

September 16, 2024 4:15 PM

PM Modi extends congratulations to new Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dick Schoof on his appointment as the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands on Tuesday, and said he looks forward to closely working to further advance India-Netherlands ties. In a post on social media platform X, PM Modi said, "Congratulations Dick Schoof on assuming office as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Look forward to closely working together to advance India-Netherlands partnership including in the areas of renewable energy, water manage...

July 2, 2024 8:01 PM

Former spy chief Dick Schoof sworn in as Dutch Prime Minister

Dick Schoof, the former head of the Dutch Secret Service, was sworn in as the Netherlands' new Prime Minister on Tuesday, ending a seven-month political impasse following the far-right's victory in last November's elections. He is leading a broad right-wing coalition cabinet promising to implement the country's "strictest-ever" immigration policy. King Willem-Alexander officiated the ceremony at the royal Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, where Schoof and his cabinet ministers took their oat...

June 26, 2024 4:14 PM

NATO picks Netherlands’ Mark Rutte as next boss

NATO on Wednesday selected Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO's next boss, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the United States' future attitude to the transatlantic alliance. Rutte's appointment became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last week that he had quit the race, having failed to gain traction. Rutte will take over on Oct. 1 from Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, who is stepping down af...

June 19, 2024 4:46 PM

Dutchman Mark Rutte, longtime Putin critic, set to lead NATO alliance

Mark Rutte, who looks set to be NATO's next secretary-general, is a staunch ally of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who honed his skills as a political dealmaker during nearly 14 years as Dutch prime minister. Rutte, 57, has been one of the driving forces behind Europe's military support for Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion, and says defeat on the battlefield for Moscow is vital to secure peace in Europe. His view is heavily influenced by the downing of an ...