The outgoing Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Ruttethe leading candidate to date for the post of NATO secretary general, said Europe should stop whining about what Donald Trump says and instead focus on what it could do about Ukraine itself.

The former US president caused an uproar in Europe when he said that, if re-elected in November, he would not stand up for NATO allies who do not spend enough on defence.

“We should stop whining and whining and whining about Trump”, Rutte said at the Munich Security Conference. His election “depends on the Americans. I’m not an American, I can’t vote in the US. We will have to work with whoever is on the track,” he added.

In any case, Europe should invest more in defense and increase ammunition production, and not just because Trump can return to the presidency, Rutte continued, stressing that support for Ukraine should be increased because it is in Europe’s interest.

Rutte, who unexpectedly announced his departure from the political scene Netherlands last July, he has said he does not know whether he is considered a favorite for the post of NATO secretary general and will not launch a campaign to succeed him Jens Stoltenberg. “And all this whining and mumbling about Trump. I have been listening to it constantly for the past two days. Let’s not do that,” he said, noting that after talks with American politicians in Munich he is “cautiously optimistic” that blocked American military aid will eventually be approved.

Stoltenberg took over as its general secretary NATO in 2015 and is due to leave in October 2024. His term was extended last July for a fourth time as the 31-member Alliance opted to keep an experienced leader at the helm, rather than attempt to name a successor, amid of Russia’s war in Ukraine, on NATO’s doorstep. Before the decision was made to keep Stoltenberg at the NATO helm, diplomats said Rutte would be a strong candidate to succeed him, but the Dutchman then insisted he was not available at the time.