NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Wednesday praised President Trump’s decision to not provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles in its war with Russia.
Speaking with CNN hours after meeting with Trump at the White House, Rutte said that “one specific weapon system” would change the war, whether from other European countries or from the U.S.
“And I think what the president explained today is that for the Tomahawk system, and he was completely right here, it takes months for anyone other than American soldiers to be trained on them,” Rutte said.
“So it is not that if you decide today, Ukrainians can use them tomorrow,” he continued.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that it takes about a year to learn how to fire the powerful munition.
“But there is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk,” Trump said. “It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon, and maybe that’s what makes it so complex. But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it, and we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be too far out into the future.”
Rutte and Trump agreed that “sustained pressure” on Russia’s economy was needed, NATO’s leader said on CNN.
“You see, therefore, that when Putin feels under threat, that he feels things are moving in the wrong direction, he starts to react and act,” Rutte said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “So all of this shows that they are not on a sure footing. The Russians and the economy [are] not doing well.”
On Wednesday, the Treasury Department hit Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, with sanctions. This came after Trump canceled a second meeting with Putin in Budapest, Hungary.
“It just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump said about canceling the meeting with Putin. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”
