NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday sought to once more dispel doubts about the military alliance, saying European allies are delivering on US requests and stepping up their defence commitments.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Foundation a day after meeting with Donald Trump, Rutte said he told the US president that “the overwhelming majority of European allies have done what the US has asked” amid tensions over support for Washington’s campaign against Iran.

Trump has railed against European allies for a perceived lack of support after some banned US aircraft heading to the Middle East from either flying over their territory or using some jointly operated bases. The US president has accused the alliance of being a “paper tiger” and suggested he could pull his country out of the alliance altogether.

On Wednesday, after meeting Rutte at the White House, Trump wrote on social media: “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”

Rutte acknowledged some delays. “I sensed his disappointment that he felt too many allies were not visible enough,” he said. He noted Europeans were also surprised, since “to maintain the element of surprise, President Trump opted not to inform allies about the attack” on Iran.

The NATO chief reiterated that the alliance is entering “a period of profound change,” with Europe taking “a greater and fairer share of defence responsibilities,” shifting “from unhealthy codependence to a transatlantic alliance grounded in partnership.” He pointed to concrete actions, including a UK-led effort to protect shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, as “evidence of a shift in mindset”.

Rutte also issued a blunt call to Europe’s defence industry, saying: “Produce now, produce faster, bring in those extra shifts, don’t talk about ten-year plans — the money is there, act now.”

On Ukraine, Rutte praised Trump’s push for a settlement, adding that US negotiators “all understand” that the key to breaking the current deadlock in peace talks is for “NATO membership not being off the table” for Ukraine and that the security guarantees provided are “so strong that they know that Russia will not try to attack again”.

Asked about his now infamous “Daddy” remark, he said it was a lost in translation case: “We had a sort of pre-summit meeting with the President in June in The Hague, and he had been very angry that day with Iran and with Israel,” Rutte recounted. “This was in June last year, and I translated from Dutch something we would say: ‘sometimes Daddy has to be angry.’ I was not calling him my Daddy.”

“But of course, Daddy also has a special connotation, and I now have to live with this forever. I own it. Trump owned it, he even made a T-shirt out of it. He is funny, and that is why we like him. What can I say… I’m not a native speaker… sorry,” he concluded.

(at, aw)