(Nov 23): Nato secretary general Mark Rutte met US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida as Europe waits apprehensively to see how the next administration will approach the war in Ukraine.

The military alliance issued a three-sentence readout of the Friday meeting in Palm Beach, saying that the pair discussed “the range of global security issues”.

Rutte has a reputation for being able to work with Trump from his time as the prime minister of the Netherlands. In the weeks leading up to the US election, Rutte was careful to praise Trump’s record in his first term.

On Oct 1, his first day heading Nato, Rutte commended Trump for pressing the alliance on defence spending and to focus more on China. “I think he was right,” Rutte said.

But during his election campaign, Trump expressed deep scepticism about US support for Ukraine and has said he can end the war quickly. 

Rutte, for his part, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has said that any peace deal needs to be on terms that Kyiv can accept.

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