NATO Chief Warns Trump: Ukraine Deal Could Turn U.S. into China's Next Target

Nato’s new secretary-general has warned Donald Trump that the US would face a “dire threat” from China, Iran and North Korea if Ukraine is pushed to sign a peace deal on terms that are favourable to Moscow.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mark Rutte said deepening ties between US adversaries endangered America as he made a pitch to the president-elect to stick with Nato and continue to support Ukraine.

Rutte noted the risks from Russia supplying missile technology to North Korea and cash to Iran. In an apparent reference to Taiwan, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping “might get thoughts about something else in the future if there is not a good deal [for Ukraine]”.

“We cannot have a situation where we have [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un and the Russian leader and Xi Jinping and Iran high-fiving because we came to a deal which is not good for Ukraine, because long-term that will be a dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the US,” Rutte told the FT in his first interview as head of the western military alliance.

Rutte said he had made this point to Trump at their meeting in Florida on November 22, as part of an effort to persuade the US president-elect to remain engaged with western allies and continue American support for Ukraine.

“Look at the missile technology which is now being sent from Russia into North Korea, which is posing a dire threat not only to South Korea, Japan, but also to the US mainland,” Rutte said he told Trump.

“Iran is getting money from Russia in return for, for examp…  Read morele, missiles, but also drone technology. And the money is being used to prop up Hizbollah and Hamas, but also steering conflict beyond the region,” he said.