Rutte with Trump: We must produce more weapons, we are lagging behind the Russians and Chinese

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump spoke with NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House yesterday.

On that occasion, he said that his special envoy Steve Witkoff is seriously talking with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.

Rutte emphasized that NATO is significantly lagging behind Russia and China in terms of weapons production and that member states must increase defense spending to more than 3 percent of GDP.

- Putin made a very promising statement, but it was not complete. And yes, I would like to meet with him or talk, but we have to finish this quickly.

You know, people are dying every day. While we sit here, two people are killed. Think about that.

We discussed with Ukraine the land and parts of land that would be lost, and all other elements of a final agreement. It is not an easy process - Trump said.

- We must produce more weapons, but we are not doing enough, neither in the US nor in Europe. We are lagging behind compared to the Russians and the Chinese, and you have a huge defense industrial base.

Europeans buy four times more in the US than others, which is good because you have a strong defense industry. But we need to do more there to be safe - Rutte emphasized.