Brussels, 23 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday.

"They discussed the range of global security issues facing the alliance," NATO spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah told dpa. She declined to provide any further details about their talks.

The meeting between Trump and Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who took over the top NATO job earlier this year, had not been publicly announced in advance.

According to information from sources within the alliance, the meeting was to discuss Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine as well as the issue of defence spending by NATO members, among other topics

During the election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the Russian war of aggression within 24 hours and demanded that all NATO countries spend at least 3% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in the future.

Apart from the United States, only four of the 32 NATO countries currently reach this mark. Germany is estimated to spend just 2.1% this year, which is above the current NATO target of 2%.

NATO worries about Trump return

Leaders in a number of NATO countries have expressed concern about how Trump's return to the White House could impact the alliance, and there is a sense that most would have preferred Democrat Kamala Harris to win the election instead.

Trump's statements in the past had raised doubts as to whether the US would remain fully committed to its mutual assistance obligations under his leadership.

During his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, Trump repeatedly railed against what he saw as the under-investment in defence by European allies and at times even threatened to withdraw the US from NATO.

However, Rutte has remained calm in the wake of Trump's election victory earlier this month.

"Through NATO, the US has 31 friends and allies who help to advance US interests, multiply American power and keep Americans safe," he said.

Together, the allies represent half of the world's economic and military strength.

By working together in NATO, Rutte said, the allies contribute to deterring aggression, protecting collective security and supporting the economy.

It was Rutte's first meeting with Trump in his new role, although he met with Trump on several occasions in his previous role as Dutch prime minister.

During a meeting with Rutte in 2019, Trump said that he and Rutte had become friends.

Photo: EPA