NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that the US and European allies agree that Russia poses a long-term threat to the Alliance, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"We all in NATO agree that Russia is the long-term threat to NATO territory - to the entire Euro-Atlantic territory," he stressed at the White House, after talks with US President Donald Trump.
The US remains committed to NATO, he assured, even though Washington is increasingly focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.
Rutte also said that Russia, not Ukraine, should help achieve progress in negotiations to end the conflict, France notes press.
"There is something on the table right now, I think, and the Ukrainians are really playing the game. And I think the ball is clearly in Russia's court right now," Rutte said.
NATO's secretary general called on European allies and Canada to make a "quantum leap" in increasing their contributions to the organization.
According to an annual report published today, European NATO allies and Canada increased their defense investment by 19.4 percent in 2024, but these efforts should accelerate in 2025.
Trump has said that NATO countries should spend 5 percent of their annual GDP on defense - a level currently reached only by the United States.
"European allies and Canada must make a quantum leap in terms of the contributions and capabilities they provide. "This requires significantly more investment," Rutte wrote in the report.
According to estimates, the United States will account for 64% of the alliance's defense spending in 2024, while European NATO members and Canada will account for 36%, the report said. It also noted that last year, 22 of the 32 NATO countries met NATO's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had an internet connection in his office that bypassed Pentagon security protocols to use the chat app "Signal" on his personal computer, the Associated Press reported, citing its sources.
The existence of the unprotected Internet connection is the latest revelation about Hegsett's use of the unclassified application and raises the possibility that important information for US defense was at risk from a potential hacker attack.
Meanwhile, the administration of President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to allow the implementation of the ban on transgender people in the military while the litigation is ongoing, the AP notes.
Other judges have blocked orders to end the diversity, equality and inclusion policy in public schools, to deny funds to cities that grant asylum to migrants, to deport people from Colorado under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. and requiring proof of citizenship before registering to vote.
The Trump administration suffered a rapid series of legal losses Wednesday night and yesterday, in lawsuits filed over its policies on immigration, elections and its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools.
But the legal battles playing out across the country are far from over, and government lawyers have fought back, asking federal appeals courts and the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn some of the rulings.
More than 170 lawsuits have been filed over President Donald Trump's executive orders.