NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that should World War III break out, it will happen with simultaneous attacks from China and Russia.

In a lengthy interview with The New York Times, Rutte said while the timing would be joint for Chinese and Russian forces to begin offensives, China calls the shots. “There’s an increasing realization, and let’s not be naïve about this: If (Chinese leader) Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, (Russian President) Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, residing in Moscow, and telling him, Hey, I’m going to do this, and I need you to to keep them busy in Europe by attacking NATO territory.”

Rutte said presenting a strong front is the best possible approach by North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries, including the United States. “And to deter them, we need to do two things. One is that NATO, collectively, being so strong that the Russians will never do this. And second, working together with the Indo-Pacific — something President Trump is very much promoting."

He said he's secure in the belief that Trump understands the geopolitical dynamics involved. “I’m confident of the fact that Trump very much realizes that for the U.S. to stay strong and safe, there is this embeddedness with European security and working together to keep the Indo-Pacific safe.”

Trump, said Rutte, is almost single-handedly responsible for pushing NATO member nations to increase their financial support of the underlying NATO treaty, and the protection of all from military aggression. “President Trump deserves all the praise, because without his leadership, without him being re-elected president of the United States, the 2% this year and the 5% in 2035 — we would never, ever, ever have been able to achieve agreement on this.”

Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine in 2014, NATO member nations agreed to fund NATO based on 2% of their gross national product. Trump orchestrated that figure going up to 5% at a recent NATO meeting.

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