By&nbspEuronews

Published on
26/12/2025 – 14:42 GMT+1

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte rejected proposals for independent European security structures, insisting the EU does not need to break from the US on defence matters despite calls from senior European politicians.

Manfred Weber, head of the conservative EPP party and its European Parliament group, had called for deploying European troops under EU command to secure peace in Ukraine.

“I wish that soldiers with the European flag on their uniforms, together with our Ukrainian friends, would ensure peace,” Weber told German media outlet Funke.

Rutte disagreed with the proposal in an interview with German news agency dpa published Thursday.

“I’m absolutely convinced that the US is completely invested in NATO. There’s no doubt. There was one big expectation. Indeed, us spending more, Europe taking more responsibility,” Rutte said.

The NATO chief emphasised that increased European defence efforts should occur alongside the US, not independently.

“When we talk about Europe and NATO, it’s more than just the EU,” Rutte said, noting that the 23 EU countries within NATO account for only about a quarter of the alliance’s total economic output.

US and Europe to work together

Rutte pointed to shared US-European interests in defending the Arctic and North Atlantic.

“The US has its own specific interests in NATO, which is, of course, Europe staying safe, but also the Arctic. A safe Arctic is crucial for the United States, and we can only defend that together, European and American NATO allies.”

“The Arctic is a big issue. We see Chinese and Russian ships travelling there. And we can only defend the Arctic together – European and American NATO allies together.”

The NATO secretary general warned that Russia could pose a serious threat as early as 2027, according to some intelligence assessments.

“I will not speculate on where and when and how exactly. In the end, if there is an attack on NATO, then we are all under attack – because that is Article 5, which means that an attack on one is an attack on all,” Rutte said.

“If we do those two things, we are strong enough to defend ourselves, and Putin will never try,” he stated, referring to maintaining strong support for Ukraine and increasing NATO defence spending.

In the interview on Thursday, Rutte praised Germany’s commitment to reaching 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2029, ahead of the 2035 deadline agreed at the alliance’s summit in The Hague in June.

He called Germany’s approach “very impressive” and said Berlin was “leading the pack” among European allies.

Additional sources • AP, dpa

Nigeria said it shared intelligence with the U.S. ahead of Christmas night airstrikes on ISIS targets in the country.

The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that it was “engaged in structured security cooperation” with other nations, including the U.S., adding that the cooperation “led to precision hits on terrorist targets.” The ministry said that the joint security efforts include the sharing of intelligence and strategic coordination.

“Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the ministry wrote in a statement posted on X.

TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA OFFERS HOPE TO NATION’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

President Donald Trump announced the Christmas night airstrikes in northwest Nigeria, saying the targets were ISIS militants who he accused of killing Christians. The president also included a warning that further attacks would take place if the violence against Christians continued.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social. 

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.

“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” he continued. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”

NIGERIAN CHRISTIAN LEADER CALLS TRUMP’S SPOTLIGHT ON VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA AN ‘ANSWERED PRAYER’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Christian charity, Open Doors said its sources in Nigeria said, “the airstrikes have hit terrorist camps in Jabo, a rural community in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, with multiple ISIS militants reportedly killed.

Jabo is a predominantly Fulani town in Sokoto State and has been identified as a haven for militants and a link to neighboring states like Kebbi and Zamfara. To the best of our knowledge there is no church presence in Jabo.

Right now, there are fears of retaliation because of the airstrike.”

Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.

US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES ATROCITIES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA ‘GENOCIDE’

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, who has been outspoken about the violence against Christians in Nigeria, praised the strikes. The ambassador said the precision strikes showed Christians in Nigeria and around the world that Trump would “fight for them.”

Last month, Trump threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”

That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said fulfilled the president’s demand that the killings stop. Hegseth also included in a post on X a reference to the U.S.-Nigeria cooperation that led to the strikes.

“The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The [War Department] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”

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Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria have been under attack in recent months, prompting global outrage and drawing the ire of the Trump administration.

In November, armed gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, killed two people and kidnapped dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.

The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church was preceded and followed by attacks on Christian schools in Nigeria.

In the days before the attack, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. One of the girls managed to escape on the same day as the kidnapping, while the remaining 24 were rescued about a week later, The Associated Press reported.

Days after the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, armed attackers raided the Saint Mary’s School and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 of the students were able to escape in the following days, while 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.