5 hours agoTrump urges Middle Eastern countries to enter NATO
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)US President Donald Trump said today that he supports NATO's expansion in the Middle East, at a time when official Washington is looking for ways to reduce the presence of its troops deployed worldwide. I think that NATO should expand and, in absolute terms, include the East [...]
I think that NATO should expand and, in absolute terms, include the Middle East,”, Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump proposed a larger NATO presence in the Middle East yesterday following Iran's attacks on American troops in Iraq in retaliation for the murder of Iranian General Qasem Solejmani.
Trump said the Islamic state is an international problem with which other countries besides the US must face. He said the United States had banned the Islamic State and had made a great service for Europe and that NATO must be more engaged.
Reuters reports Trump joked that the Alliance should be called NATO-LM or NATO plus Middle East, and added that he proposed yesterday the name to Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The White House said that in a conversation with Stoltenberg, Trump “stressed the importance of increasing NATO's role in preventing conflicts and peace preservation in the Middle East”.
US Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison said today that the fight against Islamic State is important both to the US and NATO allies.
