Rutte will also have to handle pressure from some members to devote more attention to counter-terrorism and reinforce NATO’s southern flank — while keeping defense spending high enough to maintain a credible deterrence,

Mark Rutte, the new NATO Secretary General, despite threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin, believes there is currently no direct threat of nuclear weapons being used. The statement was made during Tuesday's press conference at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

This follows a warning to NATO allies that allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to hit Russian territory would mean that Moscow and the military alliance are at war.