NATO chief says his impression from U.S. is that Russians “are not moving fast enough” to end war in Ukraine

NATO’s top official says Russia needs to move more quickly to end the war in Ukraine, and he’s been told by the U.S. that Moscow must “do more.”

“The ball clearly is in the court of the Russians,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview that will air on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” Sunday. “They are not moving fast enough, is my impression — including the impression I’m getting from my American interlocutors, that — that Russia really has to do more to bring this war to an end.”

Rutte, who spoke with Brennan Friday, said the U.S. and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are in lockstep on countering Russia and are working in tandem to secure an end to the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression.

He lauded the White House for prioritizing trying to “break the deadlock” in Ukraine, where Russia’s invasion has been grinding on since 2022, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties and the wholesale destruction of cities and towns.

“I spoke with Marco Rubio, I’m in regular contact with the other members of the American administration. I think you guys are really trying, step-by-step, to get to a situation where this war can end,” Rutte said, before questioning Russia’s commitment to the process.

“Russians also have to dance the tango, and at this moment they don’t seem to do so,” Rutte said, while the Ukrainians “are really close to the American position.”

Russia has not yet agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. and has said there are still outstanding issues that must be resolved first. 

Rubio, who is attending a NATO conference in Brussels, told reporters Friday, “We will know from their answers very soon whether they are serious about proceeding with real peace or whether it’s a delay tactic. Now we’ve reached the stage where we need to make progress.”

Rutte said it was President Trump’s inauguration that kickstarted the peace process, telling Brennan that “until January this year, nothing happened when it came to bringing this war to an end.” 

The two sides and the U.S. are working to hammer out the details of a partial ceasefire. 

NATO and the Trump tariffs

Rutte said that he does not believe Mr. Trump’s global tariffs, which slammed Europe and many allies, will harm the military alliance.

“I’m not saying it doesn’t have an impact on individual allies, but it does not have an impact on the alliance,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview recorded Friday with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

He added that it’s “my firm conviction” that a potential trade war will not affect Europe’s defense spending or commitment to NATO.

Mr. Trump has frequently criticized NATO countries for spending less than 2% of their gross domestic product on defense and in his second administration pushed for members to more than double their defense spending to 5%.

Rutte argued Friday that European countries have already ramped up their spending.

“It is staggering the amount of billions coming in. It —you have to compare this to the days of the Cold War, when you look at the overall defense spending now being ramped up in Europe,” Rutte said.

Nuclear deterrence

Pressed by Brennan over statements made by the leaders of Germany, Poland and France about expanding a western European nuclear umbrella — beyond the assurances of protection provided by the U.S. and United Kingdom — Rutte said he’s confident in the U.S.’ nuclear security guarantee.

“Marco Rubio this week basically repeated what President Trump has said three times now on television: that the U.S. is completely committed to NATO, is completely committed to Article 5,” Rutte said. “That includes the U.S. being the ultimate guarantor, through the nuclear deterrent, for NATO territory, including, and particularly of course, the European part of NATO.” Article 5 says that an attack on any NATO member country is an attack on all members.

Rutte said the Trump administration has “consistently” said it is committed to the alliance.

“What I’m urging my European colleagues to do is to put on the television and sometimes listen to the senior American leadership when it comes to NATO,” Rutte said. “Instead of worrying constantly about, ‘Is the U.S. still committed to NATO?’ The answer is yes, it has been consistently coming out of the American system over the last three months.”