Rutte in NRC opinion piece: War emphasizes importance of relationship with US

According to the Prime Minister, “it is a fact that this first year of the war would have been very different without the massive use of American goods and resources”. Therefore, he thinks it is important that “we in the Netherlands and in Europe appreciate the great role of America.”

According to him, Americans are leading the way in supporting Ukraine, saying their country was “born out of a deep-rooted desire for freedom and showing that ‘we the people’ are in charge through a sophisticated democratic system of checks and balances.” .

Yet Rutte also points to risks to American democracy, such as an attack on the Capitol in 2021. “We cannot turn a blind eye to that.” At the same time, according to Rudd, American democracy is dynamic and self-renewing, and has an “inherent attraction of freedom and self-determination for peoples around the world.” According to Root, he concludes, the 21st century will be America’s century, not China’s.

Nevertheless, the Prime Minister says that Europe can no longer “hide under the US security umbrella” in the NATO context. The Netherlands will now comply with NATO standards and invest 2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in defense.

Rutte will give a guest lecture at Leiden University on Tuesday. His comment was based on that lecture, the newspaper said. Prime Minister delivers lecture against backdrop of year-long war: This Friday marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine.