NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said President Donald Trump deserves credit for pushing alliance members to increase defense spending and modernize their militaries, calling the president's approach beneficial for the alliance.

"I just like the man. I think what he is doing for NATO is great news," Rutte told Politico during an interview at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Rutte said Trump has succeeded where previous American presidents had fallen short, "basically achieving what, since [Dwight D.] Eisenhower, American presidents tried to achieve, which is to equalize the defense spending between the U.S. and Europe," he said.

Rutte said the summit would be "transformational" for NATO as allies continue increasing military spending and expanding defense programs.

The 31 NATO members other than the United States have pledged about $250 billion in new defense programs and military investments over the past two years, with more commitments expected during the summit.

Rutte said European allies and Canada are taking on a larger share of NATO's defense responsibilities.

"You have to build a NATO which is sustainable and therefore is not overreliant on the U.S. as a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO, where the Europeans and the Canadians are really stepping up," he said.

Rutte also pointed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a continuing reason for NATO countries to strengthen their militaries.

"We've got to do this because of the Russians' threat, and we see what the Russians are doing in Ukraine," he said, adding that the alliance also must contend with "the massive Chinese buildup and the fact that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran work together."

Addressing U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, Rutte said European allies provided important logistical support. Trump has criticized some NATO allies for not doing enough to support the campaign against Iran.

"The U.S. probably could not have done Epic Fury without using Europe as one big platform of power projection," Rutte said, citing the use of European airfields to support the operation.

Rutte acknowledged Trump has expressed disappointment with some allies but said the alliance remains united.

"I think the president has a point that there are individual cases where he is rightly disappointed, but when you look at the bigger picture of what the Europeans are doing, it is massive," he said.