NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reaffirmed on Tuesday that the United States is "still with us" but that US President Donald Trump expects allies to deal with the "huge" issue of defense spending. Rutte asked European member states to "stop worrying so much about the US" and focus on boosting their defenses and maintaining support for Ukraine.

Rutte said that European allies and Canada have already committed over $35 billion to military aid for Ukraine this year. He told the NATO Public Forum that he cannot predict whether Ukraine and Russia will be able to reach a peace deal by the end of the year, arguing that the process "will take time" and stressing NATO must ensure Ukraine "has everything to stay in the fight" in the meantime.