The new Nato chief Mark Rutte has vowed to strengthen Western support for war-ravaged Ukraine as he takes charge of the alliance. The former Dutch prime minister officially replaced Jens Stoltenberg yesterday as Nato secretary general after his predecessor spent a decade in the job.
Mr Rutte's appointment comes at an important time for Nato, with the US election just weeks away, he will soon be working with a new president. The secretary general said during a press conference yesterday that he could work with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris and appreciates that Ukraine will be his top priority.
Mr Rutte, 57, was prime minister of the Netherlands until he stepped down earlier this year following the collapse of his coalition government in 2023. In June he was appointed to the Nato role. "We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," Mr Rutte said at Nato's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
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