SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Good morning. Well, good morning. And Marco, thank you so much for having this opportunity. I really want to say we all admire what you and the President are doing, and the whole team are doing. You have been working so hard over the last couple of days in the Middle East. You are really making progress. I think this is important. It shows American leadership, not only on Ukraine - where at last the new American administration breaking the deadlock under the leadership of President Trump - but also now when it comes to the Middle East and, of course, all the other issues in the world. We collectively have to make sure to stay stable, and we need American leadership, and you're providing that.
Today will very much be about the summit in the Hague, and as - first of all, ramping up defense spending in Canada and Europe. Nations are committed to do that. We'll have a debate on all the details, but this is really important because we have the ongoing Russian threat, you have the Chinese built up massively at the moment militarily, and of course the - the terrorism, the terrorist threat, which is still ongoing. But you also have to ramp up the defense industry, because there's only money - we are not there. We also need the defense industrial output to make sure that we can fight off any threat to NATO, to NATO territory. And of course, we'll discuss Ukraine, how to make sure that we bring Ukraine to a lasting, endurable peace.
Again, welcome and thank you —
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you, Mark.
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: — for your personal leadership in all of this, Marco.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, thank you. And I think today's meeting sets up what I hope will be - I believe will be - a very successful leaders-level meeting coming up very shortly. NATO has the opportunity to grow even stronger in the Alliance. The Alliance is only as strong as its weakest link, and we intend and endeavor to have no weak links in this Alliance. So it's setting up nicely, and it's good to see. The President has just submitted a budget for a trillion dollars of defense spending, which is unheard of. It's unparalleled. And it's not just spending money; it's spending money on the capabilities that are needed for the threats of the 21st century, all kinds of different threats that look different from the threats in the past. And so I think today sets up that leaders meeting which will be very productive.
I also think, obviously, the big issue on everyone's mind is what's happening with Russia and Ukraine. The President of the United States has been abundantly clear he wants the war to end. He's open to virtually any mechanism that gets us to a just, enduring, and lasting peace, and that's what he wants to see. He wants to see an end to wars; he wants to keep wars from happening. The purpose of NATO is to prevent wars through its strength, and that's why we want to see it grow stronger, spending levels among all partners that allow everyone to be stronger. It makes the Alliance stronger. And also he wants to end wars, and that's the hope with Russia and Ukraine. We'll see what happens over the next couple of days in that regard, but we want to see progress made in that regard. And whatever mechanism is outlined, whatever the process is that needs to happen, I mean, we are open to being constructive and helpful in any way we can to end the conflict.
I will say this and I'll repeat it, that there is no military solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This war is going to end not through a military solution but through a diplomatic one, and the sooner an agreement can be reached on ending this war, the less people - less people will die and the less destruction there will be. And ultimately that's what the President's goal is. He wants - as you've seen through his trip that is currently underway in the Middle East, and he talked about in his speech a couple days ago - I hope you had a chance to watch it. It was a very good speech; it was an important speech. And what it marks is when - he's interested in building things, not destroying. He wants economies and countries focused on building things, making things, providing opportunity and prosperity for its people. And he's against all the things that keep that from happening like wars, like terrorism, and all the instability that comes with it.
That's why he's made a bold decision when it comes to Syria and the hope that the new authorities there will take this opportunity to rebuild that country and - and make it from - take it from being a source of instability to a source of stability. And that's why he wants to see the war in Ukraine end, because there are people suffering. There are things being destroyed. There are lives being upended. There are millions of Ukrainians that live outside of their borders and their country right now, and the world the President wants to see is one in which people can come back home and begin to rebuild their country and spend their time focused on how to build the economy, not how to fight a war.
But obviously, we're in a very difficult spot right now, and we hope that this - that we can find the steps forward that provide for the end of this war in a negotiated way and the prevention of any war in the future as a result, meaning a peace that's going to ensure not just that this war ends but that also prevents a new one from starting at some point down the road. So a lot of work - we remain committed to that. Obviously, like everyone else, impatient, we want to see it happen, and - but it's difficult, but hopefully progress will be made here soon.
Thank you.
SECRETARY GENERAL RUTTE: Thank you.
