Remarks by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (right) and Marco Rubio (US Secretary of State) at press conference at NATO headquarters’ in Brussels Apr. 03, 2025.  (Credit: nato.int)

By Gary Raynaldo    –  DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured skeptical NATO allies in Brussels this week that the U.S. supports the military alliance. Rubio traveled to Brussels Thursday to attended meeting of foreign ministers a day after President Trump imposed sweeping global tariffs that affect U.S. allies.  Rubio blamed “hysteria and hyperbole” in the media for the perception that President Trump is anti-NATO and wants to exit the alliance. “Some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted,” Rubio said at a pre-meeting press conference. “President Trump has made clear he supports NATO. We’re going to remain in NATO.”

Rubio then made clear that the U.S. expects Europe to pull its own weight with defense spending. Rubio said the full-scale ground war in Ukraine right in the heart of Europe is a reminder “that hard power is still necessary as a deterrent” to threats. “We do want to leave here with an understanding that we are on a pathway, a realistic pathway, to every single one of the members committing and fulfilling a promise to reach up to 5 percent in spending.”   Rubio stressed that President Trump “is not against NATO but is against a NATO that does not have the capability it needs to fulfill the obligations that the treaty imposes.”  NATO currently has a goal of 2 percent spending with many allies of the opinion 5 percent is not realistic. Rubio said he did not expect allies to reach 5 percent overnight. “No one expects that you’re going to be able to do this in one year or two, but the pathway has to be real,” Rubio said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Rubio at the joint press conference that there has been a recent steep increase in defense spending in Europe, particularly in support of Ukraine. “When you look at the hundreds of billions of euros rolling in the last couple of months, this is probably the biggest surge in defense spending we have seen since the Cold War. So that is good news but still we need to do more.”