Mr Rutte branded the decision to leave “awful” as he expressed hope for a Brexit u-turn.
Speaking from the EU summit in Brussels, Mr Rutte said he “hated Brexit” and hoped the UK would change their minds.
Asked if Article 50 could be revoked, he said: “That’s still possible isn’t it?
“I am not expecting that it will happen, and as you know I hate Brexit so I hope this will happen, but it is not the impression the British Government gives at the moment.
“But if they would come back on this awful decision of the majority in Britain to leave the European Union I would be all too happy.
“As far as I know legally we could rescind the whole process.”
Speaking at the EU Summit in Brussels he went on to tell Theresa May to make up her mind on what she wants from the EU, claiming it would be strange to assume Europe would tell the PM what they want from the mutual arrangement.
Asked if the UK could expect an opening deal from Brussels to clarify the bloc’s position, he said: “That would be very strange.
“We have not asked the UK to leave the European Union so I think the Brits now have to decide what they want.
“Do they want to have access to the customs union and the single market – and of course that entails certain obligations – or do they only want the internal market, only the customs union, as that would entail other obligations.
“Do they want a bespoke model or do they want to base the relationship on the Norwegian, the Swiss or whatever model, or do they want a free trade agreement like with Canada and Korea? Do they want a WTO arrangement?
“But this is up to the Brits.
“It is the task of each government to do two things, one is to keep the country safe, and secondly to keep the country economically healthy.
“This is about keeping Britain economically healthy so knowing Theresa May, and as I said yesterday I find her to be a formidable colleague, I have full confidence that she knows that she not only has the task of keeping Britain safe but also to keep Britain economically healthy.
“And for that to happen she needs to take a decision with her team on how she sees the future relationship with the European Union.”
It comes as Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar this morning admitted the EU is deeply divided over what kind of trading relationship it should pursue with Britain after Brexit.
mr Varadkar revealed there are “quite divergent opinions” amongst the remaining 27 member states when it comes to the depth of its future partnership with the UK.
EU leaders and officials have repeatedly called for more “clarity” from Britain over what kind of relationship it wants with the bloc, accusing Mrs May of being too vague.
This morning Maltese PM Joseph Muscat said the UK needs to lay out “in clear terms” what kind of a trade deal it will seek with the EU and how much Single Market access it wants.
And Mr Rutte threw down the gauntlet to Mrs May yesterday, saying with the agreement on sufficient progress “it’s now for the UK to make up its mind”.