British News Agency

Mark Rutte said, “You can be sure that I am working on this issue behind the scenes, but I cannot do so publicly. Therefore, I’m sorry, I have no comment on Greenland.”

He added that Trump is right in saying NATO needs to do more to protect the Arctic more broadly.

However, Deutsche Welle moderator Sarah Kelly noted that “sometimes behind-the-scenes comments make their way into the public,” referring to Trump publishing messages he received from Rutte.

The NATO Secretary General responded with a smile, but did not take the bait.

As he faced another question about NATO’s future and Europe’s role in the alliance, Rutte skillfully managed his position.

He said that EU countries cover only 25 percent of NATO’s GDP-related spending, and therefore the U.S. president remains the leader of the free world and a core part of NATO.

At the same time, he pushed back against Trump’s repeated remarks last night that he was unsure whether European allies would come to the U.S.’s aid if needed.

Rutte said, “Last night at the press conference, he said he doubted whether Europeans would come to help if Article Five were invoked.

I told him yes, they would, just as they did on September 11, 2001, when Article Five was invoked for the first and only time.

I have no doubt: the U.S. will come to help, we will come to the aid of the U.S., and we need each other for our collective defense.”