Mark Rutte, the outgoing Prime Minister of the Netherlands and future Secretary General of NATO, called for continued support for Ukraine in his farewell speech to Dutch parliamentarians.
Rutte said the shooting down of passenger flight MH17 by a Russian missile over eastern Ukraine in the summer of 2014 made him realise how “crucial it is that our country is embedded in the EU and NATO.”
Most of the 298 people who died on board the plane, which flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were Dutch citizens.
Rutte was officially appointed the next Secretary General of NATO a few days ago. The 57-year-old will succeed Jens Stoltenberga former Prime Minister of Norway, as leader of the defense alliance in early October.
Rutte said that a look at the world map alone makes it clear that ‘together we are stronger than alone’.
The ongoing war in Europe should motivate citizens in the Netherlands to continue supporting Ukraine in the future – “for peace there and security here,” he said.
Rutte is considered a very experienced politician, especially in the field of foreign affairs.
The liberal-conservative politician led the government in the Netherlands for almost 14 years, longer than anyone before him.
Rutte wished his successor Dick Schoof “good luck” on Sunday.
Schoof, a former head of the Dutch intelligence and counterterrorism agencies, is not affiliated with any party. He will be sworn in on Tuesday as head of a coalition government that will be the most far-right in the country’s history.
The four-party coalition is largely controlled by right-wing populist Geert Wilders, who will not hold a position in the government himself.
