NATO chief Rutte to meet Trump over US arms plan for Ukraine

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The Rutte visit comes after Trump hinted last week that he would make a 'major statement' on Russia on Monday, and as Ukraine tries to withstand enormous and complicated air attacks launched by Russian forces read more
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump this week, following the US president's announcement of plans to sell NATO allies weapons, which would subsequently be passed on to Ukraine.
NATO said on Sunday that Rutte will visit Washington on Monday and Tuesday, meeting with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and members of Congress. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the visit.
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Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close supporter of Trump, warned Sunday that the conflict is approaching an inflection point as Trump expresses an increasing interest in assisting Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. It's a cause that Trump has rejected as a waste of US taxpayer money, despite his campaign promise to stop the war as soon as possible.
'In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,' Graham said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' He went on to say, 'One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.'
The Rutte visit comes after Trump hinted last week that he would make a 'major statement' on Russia on Monday, and as Ukraine tries to withstand enormous and complicated air attacks launched by Russian forces.
Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who appeared with South Carolina lawmaker on CBS, said there is also growing consensus on Capitol Hill and among European officials about tapping some of the $300 billion in Russian assets frozen by Group of Seven countries early in the war to help Ukraine.
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'It's time to do it,' Blumenthal said.
Rubio said Friday that some of the US-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the US, he said.
'It's a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (US) factory and get it there,' Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the Trump administration to bolster air defense capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a 'capacity hole' and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia's oil industry and hit Moscow with US sanctions for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
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The legislation, in part, calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It would have an enormous impact on the economies of Brazil, China and India, which account for the vast majority of Russia's energy trade.
'The big offender here is China, India and Brazil,' Graham said. 'My goal is to end this war. And the only way you are going to end this war is to get people who prop up Putin— make them choose between the American economy and helping Putin.'
That revenue is critical in helping keep the Russian war machine humming as the US and Europe have imposed significant import and export bans on a wide range of goods to and from Russia, affecting sectors like finance, energy, transport, technology, and defense.
Trump for months had threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia's oil industry.
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But the Republican leader has become increasingly exasperated with Putin in recent days and has laid into the Russian leader for prolonging the war.
'We get a lot of bull—- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,' Trump said last week in an exchange with reporters. 'He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.'
Congress has been prepared to act on the legislation, sponsored by Graham and Blumenthal, for some time.
The bill has overwhelming support in the Senate, but Republican leadership has been waiting for Trump to give the green light before moving ahead with it.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation. Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties, without having to cede control to Congress.
Under the initial bill, the president 'may terminate' the penalties under certain circumstances, but immediately reimpose them if the violations resume. Graham has said the president would be allowed to waive the sanctions, for 180 days, and could also renew a waiver.
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Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the waivers. But Blumenthal downplayed the differences and said the legislation would give Trump a 'sledgehammer' to utilize on Putin.
'The waiver language we will have in this bill is very much like the provisions have existed in past similar measures,' Blumenthal said. He added: 'What I think is most important right now is our unity.'