The Secretary General of NATO, , refuted US President Donald Trump this Wednesday during a meeting at the White House, in which the Republican expressed his disappointment with the United States’ allies in the transatlantic organization. “I was able to point out the fact that the vast majority of European countries have collaborated in terms of bases, logistics, overflights and in guaranteeing that the commitments are met” by the institution, Rutte told CNN.
The two-hour meeting came amid criticism from Washington of the lack of participation by European allies. Rutte claimed to have had a “frank and open” conversation with Trump despite the Republican’s attacks. “The vast majority of European countries, and that is what we are talking about today, have kept their promises,” the Secretary General reaffirmed.
The White House stated hours before the meeting that the Trump Administration is considering a plan for those it considers did not help the United States and Israel in the war. The proposal, revealed by the newspaper Wall Street Journalplans to remove US soldiers from the territory of those rogue countries and deploy them to other nations considered more favorable to Washington’s policies.
The plan, according to the newspaper, could also include the closure of at least one military base in Europe, in one of the countries that the Trump Administration considers unfriendly. Possibly Spain or Germany, this medium adds.
NATO countries did not agree to be part of the coalition proposed by the American president to force the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran as a result of the conflict. Furthermore, several of them denied the use of their military bases, or their airspace, for war purposes.
Previously, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had pointed out that the two leaders were going to address Trump’s threats to remove his country from NATO or to drastically reduce his role as leader of the Atlantic organization.
“It is something that the president has addressed, and I think it is something that the president will discuss in a couple of hours with the secretary general,” the spokesperson said in her weekly press conference. Last week Trump threatened to pull the country out, or reduce his role as leader of the organization, in retaliation for the refusal of NATO countries to be part of a coalition that would force the opening of the Strait of Hormuz in the war against Iran. Several member countries also denied the United States the use of their bases or airspace for the conflict.
“It was a test, and they failed it,” the spokesperson declared, in what she said was a direct quote from the president. “It is very sad that NATO turned its back on the American people during the last six weeks, when it has been the American people who have paid for their defense”
Before his meeting with Trump at the White House, Rutte had met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In their conversation, both addressed the situation in the war against Iran, the conflict in Ukraine and the coordination between the United States and the rest of the Atlantic Alliance, as indicated by the State Department.
Rutte’s visit to Washington was announced after US President Donald Trump last week threatened to withdraw his country from the Alliance, or downgrade its leadership role, in retaliation for what he considers the partners’ lack of collaboration in the war against Iran.
On Monday, while warning that he planned to bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure if an agreement was not reached by Tuesday night, the US president again attacked members of the organization. NATO assures that the trip of its secretary general had already been scheduled for a long time and the president’s statements have not influenced his movement.
“If you want to know the truth, it all started with Greenland. They didn’t want to give it to us, and I said: ‘Goodbye, good bye,'” Trump said in a press conference, with a comment that reopens a dispute between Washington and Brussels that the European partners had wanted to close.
