Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte formally took over as secretary general of NATO from Norway’s Jens Stoltenberg at a Tuesday ceremony.
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00:00Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has officially taken over as Secretary-General of NATO.
00:04It comes at a time of great global upheaval and a crushing war on the continent.
00:09Rutte paid tribute to his Danish predecessor Jens Stoltenberg, who served in the role for a record 10 years.
00:17He says he agrees that Ukraine should use Western weapons, including long-range ones, to target Russian military sites.
00:26Let's not forget Ukraine is fighting a war of self-defense.
00:30And that means that Ukraine has the right to defend itself.
00:35And as we know, international law, and according to international law, this right does not end at the border.
00:42So that means that supporting Ukraine's right to self-defense means that it is also possible for them to strike legitimate targets on the aggressor's territory.
00:55At the end, it's up to each ally to determine its support for Ukraine.
01:00Rutte reiterated NATO's statement that China is a key enabler of Russia through sanctioned circumvention and supply of goods to aid its military production.
01:09He also said the world cannot give in to Putin's nuclear threats.
01:14We do not see any imminent threat of nuclear weapons being used.
01:19And that's what I want to say about this at this moment.
01:23Because let him talk about his nuclear arsenal.
01:27He wants us also to discuss his nuclear arsenal.
01:31And I think we shouldn't.
01:32We should just acknowledge the fact that clearly there is no imminent threat of nuclear weapons being used.
01:39And that is important.
01:40And generally, not just on nuclear, but more generally, if you would give in to Putin's threats,
01:47that would set a precedent that using military force allows a country to get what it wants.
01:54And we cannot do that.
01:55Mark Rutte says he'll push for even more defense spending and persist in the alliance's support for Ukraine.
02:01He said his country, the Netherlands, knows only too well the threat that Russia poses to the world,
02:06especially after the MH17 passenger plane was shot down by proxy Russian forces,
02:11killing nearly 300 people, many of them Dutch.
02:15Shona Murray, Euronews, NATO.