By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - Transatlantic relations remain the bedrock of NATO, chief of the defense alliance said on Thursday.
"These are uncertain times, and I know some may have concerns about NATO's future. So, let me be clear, the transatlantic relationship and the transatlantic partnership remain the bedrock of our alliance," Mark Rutte told a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Rutte said US President Donald Trump has made clear his commitment to NATO, besides the expectation that other members of the alliance should spend more on defense.
"We are already seeing movement in the right direction. Last year, defense investment rose by 20% for Europe and Canada," he added.
Rutte also praised Poland's contribution to NATO, and to the defense of Ukraine against Russia.
For his part, Duda underlined an ambitious rearmament program, which included purchase of F-35 jets and M1 Abrams tanks and K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers from South Korea, in line with the US demand from the European members of the alliance and the Russian threat.
He said Poland is among the biggest contributors to the Ukraine's war efforts by donating various military hardware and becoming a hub to ship the weapons sent from other countries to Ukraine.
"Today, what we have to do is to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. But a very important thing is that the achieved peace is just and lasting. A lasting peace to us means a peace which will never be infringed by Russia," Duda added.
"However, I also encourage you to look at it in a reasonable way so the conditions of the future ceasefire, hopefully peace, should be developed in such a way that we are able to reconstruct Ukraine," he added.
Against this background, unity and cooperation between the US and the Europe should be maintained, Duda argued.
"We have to do it together as the North Atlantic alliance and as the transatlantic community, Euro-American community, I believe that this is the right direction," he said.
Answering a question on relations between the US and Ukraine, Duda maintained that he remains optimistic for the repair of bilateral ties and voiced support for the critical minerals deal Washington insisted Kyiv to sign.
European leaders have scrambled to increase defense spending, as Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv and moved to make a peace deal with Russia to end the Ukraine war.