BRUSSELS (Reuters): NATO head Mark Rutte warned the US-led transatlantic alliance on Thursday that it was not ready for the threats it would face from Russia in the coming years and called for a shift to a wartime mindset – with much higher defense spending.
Rutte said NATO members had spent more than 3 percent of GDP on defense during the Cold War, and future spending would have to be much higher than the current alliance target of 2 percent.
“Russia is preparing for long-term confrontation, with Ukraine and with us,” Rutte said in a speech in Brussels.
“We are not ready for what is coming our way in four to five years,” the NATO secretary-general said, adding: “It is time to shift to a wartime mindset, and turbocharge our defense production and defense spending.”
