Watch: Trump meets with NATO President Rutte after suspending talks with Putin

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte opened his remarks alongside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday by praising Trump’s ceasefire efforts in the Middle East.

Watch Trump and Rutte’s meeting in the video player above.

Rutte said he was texting Trump as the deal took effect, thanking him for “everything you are doing,” adding that his NATO colleagues “want to help him” bring peace between Ukraine and Russia.

He watches: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte talks about Trump, Ukraine and new spending commitments

Wednesday’s meeting came at a time when the United States announced new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent criticized Moscow’s refusal to end its “senseless war” and said the Treasury was prepared to take further action if necessary to support Trump’s efforts to end the war.

The sanctions imposed on Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as dozens of subsidiaries, come after months of bipartisan pressure on Trump to impose tougher sanctions on Russia over its oil industry.

“I felt like the time had come,” Trump said about the Russian sanctions during his meeting with Rutte.

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 22, 2025. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump defended his decision not to provide Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles because training the Ukrainian army to use them would take a long time.

The president said it would take “at least six months” or even a year to teach the Ukrainians the long-range missile system, adding that there was a “huge learning curve.”

The Trump administration had previously considered the possibility of providing weapons to Ukraine to help stop the war that Russia started there. But Trump closed that option after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin when he indicated that the United States needed to maintain its supply of Tomahawk missiles.

Trump says he will talk with Chinese President about the war between Russia and Ukraine during the South Korea meeting

“I think he can have a lot of influence on Putin,” Trump said of Xi Jinping.

Beijing has not yet confirmed that the two leaders will meet, but the two leaders certainly have a lot to talk about beyond the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Trump believes that Xi wants to overcome differences on trade

In reviewing his scheduled meeting next week with Chinese leader Xi, Trump indicated that he believes the United States has the upper hand. Trump threatened to impose additional taxes on imports of 100% in response to China limiting the export of rare earth elements used in advanced technologies.

“Tariffs are much stronger than rare earths,” Trump said.

Both issues could harm global economic growth, as loss of access to rare earth elements could disrupt supply chains. Meanwhile, tariffs at the rates proposed by Trump could essentially halt trade between the world’s two largest economies.

President Donald Trump holds a photo displaying the new White House ballroom to be built during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., October 22, 2025. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump says there is not much left of the original East Wing before it was demolished

The president justifies the removal of part of the facade of the East Wing of the White House to make room for a new ballroom that he is building by saying that there is not much left of the original building.

He said part of the White House is more than a century old and ready for replacement but “certain areas have been left behind.”

the pictures: The White House begins demolition of the East Wing to build the Trump Ballroom

Trump also said, “We’re also working with the military” on the project to make sure it’s excellent.

During his statements, the president said that the price of the hall could reach $300 million, while he previously said that it would cost $250 million.

He bristled at suggestions that his department was not transparent about work: “I think we’ve been more transparent than anyone has ever been.”