US President-elect Donald Trump and the top of NATO have met for talks on world safety, the navy alliance mentioned Saturday.
In a short assertion, NATO mentioned Trump and its secretary basic, Mark Rutte, met on Friday in Palm Seaside, Florida. “They mentioned the vary of worldwide safety points dealing with the Alliance,” the assertion mentioned with out giving particulars.
It seemed to be Rutte’s first assembly with Trump since his Nov. 5 election. Rutte had beforehand congratulated Trump and mentioned “his management will once more be key to holding our Alliance robust” and that he regarded ahead to working with him.
Trump has for years expressed skepticism concerning the Western alliance and complained concerning the protection spending of a lot of its member nations, which he considered too low. He depicted NATO allies as leeches on the US navy and brazenly questioned the worth of the alliance that has outlined American overseas coverage for many years. He threatened to not defend NATO members that fail to fulfill defense-spending targets.
Rutte and his staff additionally met Trump’s choose as nationwide safety adviser, US Rep. Michael Waltz, and different members of the president-elect’s nationwide safety staff, the NATO assertion mentioned.
Rutte took over on the helm of NATO in October.
