Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, took over the helm of the organization on Tuesday from Jens Stoltenberg, who stepped down as secretary general after 10 years at the post.
Addressing an audience of ambassadors at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Rutte said he would work on three priorities, one of which was support for Ukraine. But he stopped short of setting a time frame for Ukraine’s alliance membership.
“A priority is to step up our support for Ukraine and bring it ever closer to NATO because there can no lasting security in Europe without a strong, independent Ukraine.
“I know from personal experience with the downing of flight MA-17 in 2014 how conflict in Ukraine is not contained to the frontlines,” he added in reference to the Malaysian Airways aircraft that was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by Russian-backed separatists over eastern Ukraine.
Rutte added it was important that NATO stood by its commitment to put Ukraine on the “irreversible path to membership.”
“We must sustain this support to the future because Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.”
Rutte said that another priority would be to ensure that defense “remains effective and credible against all threats.” This would require, he added, more investment from members states.
The third of his priorities, Rutte said, would be to strengthen NATO’s partnership with the EU and with countries “around the world that share our interests and values.”
“In a global, interconnected world our security has to be a team effort.”
