The journalist reminded the NATO Secretary General that German youth are “protesting against compulsory military service” and asked how to motivate the younger generation to fight for their country.
“There is a lot of debate about this, but when I look at Germany and also at my country, the Netherlands, I see a clear majority that understands the threat and the need to defend their country,” Rutte replied.
For Europeans, he said, it was crucial to protect their way of life (“not to let one person tell you what to think and how to live”), as well as democracy, freedom of the press, the right to demonstrate, and so on.
“I have no doubt that when the situation escalates, young people will be ready to take up arms if necessary. Therefore, they are not worried that young people may refuse military service,” said the NATO Secretary General.
Rutte drew attention to the fact that the illegitimate president of the aggressor country, Russia, Vladimir Putin, “has a resource that never runs out” – people, that is, about 140 million Russians.
“In NATO countries taken together – [население] about 1 billion, and in all respects we are now stronger than Russia. We just need to make sure we stay as strong as possible. This includes recruiting more personnel into our armed forces,” he explained.
The NATO Secretary General called Germany's plans to increase the size of its army from 180 thousand to 500 thousand “in the coming years” a “historic step.” He also said that the Netherlands wants to increase its army from 60 thousand to 200 thousand by 2030, and called this “colossal growth.”
“Of course, this also causes debate in society, because we need people in healthcare, in industry, and so on. There is always competition for the best minds, but I believe that young people will put the defense of their country above many other things. We are already seeing this. In Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, throughout NATO, there is a significant increase in the number of applications for service in the armed forces,” Rutte emphasized.
