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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump this week, following Trump’s announcement to sell advanced weaponry to NATO allies for transfer to Ukraine.
Rutte will meet with Trump, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and members of Congress in Washington on Monday and Tuesday for discussions.
“I’m scheduled to meet with the secretary general who’s arriving tomorrow,” Trump said. “We will essentially send them various pieces of highly sophisticated weapons, and they’re going to reimburse us 100% for them.”
The visit comes after Trump hinted at a “major statement” about Russia and amid Ukraine’s efforts to defend against significant Russian air strikes.
Trump did not disclose further details about the statement, saying, “We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, stated that the Ukraine conflict is reaching a critical point, as Trump renews his interest in assisting Kyiv against Russia’s invasion.
“In the coming days, you will see a record-level supply of weapons to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said. “One of Putin’s biggest mistakes was underestimating Trump, and you’ll see a major effort in the coming days and weeks to bring Putin to negotiations.”
Rubio mentioned that some of the weapons Ukraine seeks are already with NATO allies in Europe, which could be quickly transferred to Ukraine, with European countries purchasing replacements from the US.
Trump is also facing requests from both sides of the US political spectrum and European allies to back legislation aimed at weakening Russia’s oil industry and imposing more US sanctions.
The legislation proposes a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue purchasing Russian oil, gas, uranium, and other exports, significantly impacting the economies of Brazil, China, and India, which are major players in Russia’s energy trade.
This revenue is crucial for sustaining Putin’s military operations, as the US and Europe have implemented substantial import and export restrictions on a wide range of goods to and from Russia.
