NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte begins a scheduled three-day visit to Washington on Wednesday, amid renewed threats from US President Donald Trump that he is considering withdrawing from the alliance.
Rutte is expected to meet Trump following Tuesday’s last-minute reprieve in tensions with Tehran, which reportedly includes a two-week ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, although the terms remain unclear.
He will meet the US president alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House later on Wednesday.
Rutte is also due to hold talks with members of Congress and deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on Thursday.
A key issue during the visit is likely to be frustration in Washington over allies’ refusal to join the United States and Israel in their military campaign against Iran, or to allow US aircraft involved in the conflict to use their airspace.
The decision by several NATO countries has angered Trump, prompting him to criticise European governments and question the value of continued US membership in the alliance.
Trump has long expressed concern over what he sees as America’s disproportionate contribution to European security.
The US president has repeatedly lashed at NATO allies for not helping during the hot phase of the war, calling the alliance a paper tiger without the US. In remarks last week, he said he would reconsider its contribution to NATO and his comments were echoed by Marco Rubio, who suggested the US would reassess its relationship with allies.
Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush, said Rutte faces a delicate task in managing tensions with European allies such as Germany, Finland, Spain and France, which have publicly criticised the US-Israel campaign in Iran.
“The messaging from Europe has been terrible,” Volker told Euronews.
He argued that it was unnecessary for those countries to oppose Washington so openly, suggesting it contributed to a backlash against NATO.
Volker added that Trump may now seek to “shift the blame” for setbacks in the conflict onto allies who declined to support the US position.
“The Europeans could have said, ‘we all have a stake in this and let’s see how we can help’,” he said, noting that this would not have required direct military involvement.
Patrick Bury, a former NATO analyst and lecturer in defence studies at the University of Bath, said allies are within their rights to deny access to their airspace.
“NATO allies are entitled to close their airspace,” he said, pointing to a precedent in 1982 when France and Spain restricted US access during operations against Libya.
Bury added that Rutte’s priority will be to reassure Trump while allowing member states to maintain independent positions on Iran.
“His job is to keep the US in NATO. He represents the alliance as a whole, rather than individual member states,” he said.
Rutte, who served as Dutch prime minister from 2010 to 2023, has previously faced criticism for his conciliatory approach towards Trump.
In January, when Trump suggested the US could “take” Greenland, some allies accused Rutte of not responding firmly enough. At the time, Trump did not rule out using military force to acquire the territory from Denmark, a NATO ally.
Rutte was also mocked by some commentators after referring to Trump as “daddy” during the NATO summit in The Hague in 2025.
However, analysts say now is not the moment for a change in approach and see value in his approach, even if not popular among Europeans who increasingly view Rutte as too servile and accommodating to Trump’s demands.
“Trump is often talked back from extreme positions, so Rutte should try to do that,” a Washington-based source familiar with the situation told Euronews.
“Rutte is a skilled and thoughtful figure. There is clearly an effort to steer this administration towards a more rational approach to NATO,” the official added. “If Rutte can calm tensions at a moment when the stakes are so high, then he should at least try.”
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