NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance agrees that Russia is a "long-term threat" to Euro-Atlantic security following his visit to the White House on April 24. Rutte met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on April 24 amid intensified efforts by the U.

"We all agree in NATO that Russia is the long-term threat to NATO territory -- to the whole of the Euro-Atlantic territory," Rutte told reporters outside the White House. He also said the United States remained committed to NATO, even as Washington increasingly focuses on the Asia-Pacific region.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, after meeting with Donald Trump, stated that "Ukrainians are really playing ball, and I think the ball is clearly in the Russian court now." Rutte denied that his visit was intended to dissuade Trump from forcing Ukraine into an unfavorable agreement.