NATO chief urges West to prepare for long-term confrontation with Russia | 6 Nov 2025 | NATO member-states must boost military production to be ready for a prolonged standoff with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, which are challenging the “global rules,” the bloc’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has said. Speaking to Western defense contractors at the NATO-Industry Forum in Bucharest on Thursday, Rutte told the bloc’s arms makers that “there is more cash on the table and even more will flow” amid NATO’s rearmament push. Moscow has rejected claims it harbors any aggressive intentions towards the U.S.-led military bloc, saying such allegations are being used by politicians in the U.S. and EU to scare the populations and justify huge increases in military spending. Russia also believes that NATO’s deepening involvement in Ukraine was instrumental in escalating the conflict in 2022.