NATO head to meet Trump in Washington: spokeswoman

Mar 22, 2017

"They will discuss the importance of a strong NATO in providing collective defence and projecting stability beyond the alliance's borders," the spokeswoman said of the April 12 meeting.

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 defence 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 defence 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 defence by 2024.

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