NATO head to meet Trump in Washington next month

Jens Stoltenberg to discuss with US president importance of providing collective defense and projecting stability

By AFP 22 March 2017, 12:17 am
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis (R) hosts an honor cordon to welcome Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on March 21, 201, at the Pentagon, in Washington, DC. (AFP PHOTO / PAUL J. RICHARDS)

BRUSSELS — NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will head to Washington next month for his first meeting with President Donald Trump since his election, an alliance spokeswoman said Tuesday.

“They will discuss the importance of a strong NATO in providing collective defense and projecting stability beyond the alliance’s borders,” the spokeswoman said of the April 12 meeting.

Leaders of NATO nations will then gather in Brussels on May 25 for their first summit since Trump’s stunning win in November.

Trump caused dismay in Europe when he said on the campaign trail that NATO was “obsolete” and failing to meet the challenge posed by Islamist terror groups.

At the summit leaders will discuss “the alliance’s role in the fight against terrorism, and the importance of increased defense spending and fairer burden-sharing,” a NATO spokeswoman said.

Trump’s administration has repeatedly pressed the allies to meet a pledge to spend two percent of GDP annually on defense by 2024.

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