Nervous NATO allies seek reassurance
Tue Feb 14, 2017 | 6:10pm EST
By Robin Emmott and Phil Stewart | BRUSSELS
European allies will tell the United States' new defense secretary on Wednesday that NATO is not the weak alliance U.S. President Donald Trump has accused it of being, at one of the most anticipated NATO meetings in years.
At their first face-to-face encounter with Jim Mattis, European defense ministers will also seek reassurances from their U.S. counterpart that Trump is committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has guaranteed Europe's security for almost 70 years.
"Mattis's performance is going to be really important," said Adam Thomson, a former British ambassador to NATO and director of the European Leadership Network think tank in London. "It is all about how credibly he appears to speak for the entire U.S. administration."
Trump's contradictory remarks on NATO, calling it "obsolete" during the U.S. election campaign but also supporting it, as well as his praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, have deeply unsettled allies who fear for transatlantic ties ...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-defence-idUSKBN15T31U?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
