A reporter put NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the spot Wednesday with a blunt question about his relationship with Donald Trump.

Rutte, who heads the 32-member military alliance, has frequently been accused by critics of appeasing Trump, particularly during public appearances when the U.S. president has launched into controversial remarks while Rutte sat beside him.

During the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Rasmus Svaneborg of Danish news agency Ritzau challenged Rutte directly.

He asked:

Rutte responded by arguing that Trump — who has repeatedly pressed other NATO members to increase defense spending and previously called the alliance obsolete — deserves credit “for the fact that NATO is so much stronger” today.

“Of course, it has to do with the Russian threat, it has to do with the war in Ukraine, but it very much also has to do with President Trump,” he continued.

The former Dutch prime minister, who led the Netherlands from 2010 to 2024, also addressed Trump’s repeated comments about the U.S. taking over Greenland. Rutte said he had told Trump he agreed that China and Russia pose a threat in the Arctic, but stressed that addressing those security concerns is precisely why NATO exists.

Watch the exchange here: