NATO: Russia's pace of armament is frightening

The speed with which Russia is repositioning itself militarily is "truly breathtaking and frightening", said Rutte during a question and answer session in The Hague. If we do not prepare for this, we will no longer be able to defend ourselves in three to five years' time.

Rutte cited the capacities for the production of artillery ammunition as one area in which NATO must catch up. The Russians currently produce as much in three months as the entire NATO does in a year - although their economy is 25 times smaller, he said. This could not continue in the long term. If you want to prevent war, you have to invest.

Is 2035 too late?

Rutte made his comments in light of the fact that countries such as Italy and the UK have managed to ensure that the deadline for meeting the new NATO target for defense spending is 2035. Rutte himself had originally proposed 2032.

The new NATO target is to be formally adopted by the heads of state and government at this Wednesday's summit. It provides for the annual defense-related expenditure of the alliance states to be increased to at least five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). An amount of at least 3.5 percent of GDP is to be allocated to traditional military expenditure.

It will also be possible, for example, to include expenditure on combating terrorism and infrastructure that can be used for military purposes. This could include investments in railroad lines, armored bridges and expanded ports. Currently, the NATO target for defense spending only provides for annual national spending of at least two percent of GDP.

Secretary General praises Germany

During his appearance, Rutte described the German government's course as exemplary, as it had announced the day before the summit that it intended to increase traditional defense spending to 3.5 percent of economic output by 2029 rather than 2035.