NATO secretary general says European countries have to do 'much, much more' to increase defense spending

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said European countries in the military alliance have agreed to step up their defense spending in the wake of President Donald Trump’s request that they increase the number to 5% of GDP.

"Right now, we are spending $700 billion more on the European side of NATO than before President Trump came into office. It is absolutely still not enough. We have to do much, much more," Rutte said Monday in an exclusive interview on "The Story."

"The U.S. is by far the most important ally within NATO, but the U.S. is absolutely right that it is only fair that on the European side of NATO, we ramp up spending because we need to do it for our own defense. But also, because it is fair to get this balance with what the U.S. is spending on defense."

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Heads of state pose for a group photo during the NATO 75th anniversary celebratory event at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on July 9, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

European leaders held an emergency summit in Paris on Monday to discuss an upcoming bilateral meeting between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to negotiate an end to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Alarm bells went off in Europe after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News co-host, said last week that NATO membership for Ukraine is an unrealistic outcome for any negotiated settlement to the war and security guarantees must be maintained by "capable European and non-European troops."

"To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine," he said.

Critics say Hegseth gave up key leverage in the United States’ negotiations with Russia before peace talks even began.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds his closing press conference at the end of defense ministers' meetings at NATO headquarters on February 13, 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.(Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images) ((Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images))

Rutte told Fox News host Martha MacCallum he has "great trust" in the American team leading the peace talks and has "no doubt" that Ukraine will be involved.

"We have to work together to make sure that we keep the whole of NATO territory safe. But clearly, we have to step up on this part and when it comes to the other theaters, the other areas in the world where the U.S. has to concentrate its attention on, obviously China and, of course, the Middle East, it's only fair that you ask the Europeans to do more so that they can be able to make sure that they can have their attention concentrating on all these areas, including Europe," he said.

PUTIN'S A ‘LITTLE BIT SCARED’ OF TRUMP AS NATIONS BEGIN PEACE TALKS, ZELENSKYY SAYS

The former Netherlands prime minister added that he rejects criticism that Trump is appeasing Putin ahead of the talks.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attending a meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on December 6, 2023. (Sergei SAVOSTYANOV / POOL / AFP )

"What the American president is doing, he wants to bring this war to an end. He has taken initiatives to do that," Butte explained. "That whole process is now starting. And Europeans were a bit rattled when that started and started to complain that they were not involved. They are now stepping up. They're getting their act together, wanting to participate."

The NATO secretary general said European leaders are working to come up with security guarantees for Ukraine if the United States ends up not having boots on the ground post-war. 

He maintained the need for "credible deterrence" to make sure Russia doesn’t try to take more of Ukraine, explaining that whatever deal comes about needs to make sure peace is "lasting" and "during."

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.