Monthly Archives: February 2017

Trump, who was outspoken on the campaign trail about the role -- and upkeep -- of the security pact, spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Sunday night.

During the call, the two leaders "reconfirmed the importance of the Alliance in troubled times," according to a statement from NATO.

Trump and Stoltenberg specifically discussed NATO allies meeting their defense spending commitments, the role of the organization in defeating terror, and the potential for a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian conflict.

"The Secretary General recalled NATO's consistent policy of strong defense and dialogue with Russia," the statement reads. "The Secretary General and President Trump looked forward to the upcoming NATO summit in Brussels in late May to discuss these issues."

The White House confirmed that Trump would attend the summit.

Last month, in a joint interview with the Times of London and the German publication Bild, Trump accused the organization, which was founded in 1949 as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism, of being "obsolete."

In the interview, which took place prior to his inauguration, Trump restated his campaign-trail doubts about the transatlantic alliance.

"I said a long time ago that NATO had problems," he said.

"Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago.

"Number two, the countries weren't paying what they're supposed to be paying," adding that this was unfair to the United States.

Only five of NATO's 28 members -- the US, Greece, Poland, Estonia and the UK -- meet the alliance's target of spending at least 2% of GDP on defense.

At a press briefing following the calls, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the disconnect between Mattis' comments and his boss'.

"The President is very clear that as it's structured now, in terms of the output of NATO, he doesn't feel as though it's doing what its mission was set up to do or that it's being particularly effective," Spicer said at the time.

Sunday's call came after EU leaders met in Malta last week, where they denounced the incoming President's recent attacks on Europe as they met for a summit to debate the future of the union.

EU leaders have been rattled by Trump's comments on Europe and the NATO transatlantic alliance. Along with calling the alliance "obselete," he has voiced his support for Britain's departure from the EU and criticized European refugee policies.

French President Francois Hollande hit out at Trump as Hollande arrived at the informal summit on the future of the EU in Malta.

"There are threats, there are challenges," he said. "What is at stake is the very future of the European Union."

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Trump commits to NATO summit

President Donald Trump spoke with the secretary general of NATO on Sunday and agreed to join a meeting of NATO leaders in Europe later this year, after having repeatedly criticized the alliance and having called it "obsolete" as late as last month.

Trump spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday evening regarding the United States' "strong support for NATO," according to the White House press office.

The two leaders discussed "how to encourage all NATO allies to meet their defense spending commitments" and the potential for a peaceful resolution of the conflict along the Ukrainian border, according to the White House.

The president also agreed to join at the summit of NATO leaders in Brussels, the alliance's headquarters, in late May.

During his campaign, Trump set off alarm bells in Europe after suggesting that he might set conditions for defending members of the alliance under attack. Trump told The New York Times in July that the United States was shouldering too much of the cost for the security alliance.

Related: Analysis: Trump's 'America First' Vision Could Upend Postwar Consensus

He said that he would force some of the 28 NATO members to contribute more and that defending fellow member nations would be contingent on those nations' having "fulfilled their obligations to us."

Trump has also repeatedly called NATO obsolete, most recently in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper in January.

President Donald Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday. Evan Vucci / AP

"I said a long time ago that NATO had problems. Number one it was obsolete, because it was, you know, designed many, many years ago," Trump said in the interview. "Number two the countries aren't paying what they're supposed to pay. I took such heat, when I said NATO was obsolete. It's obsolete because it wasn't taking care of terror."

Trump added that NATO was still "very important" to him.

Stoltenberg said he had a phone call with Trump after he was elected and was sure he would remain strongly committed to the institution.

"I am absolutely certain that the new president and the new administration will be strongly committed to a strong NATO,"

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who sought reassurances about Trump's commitment to NATO during her visit to the White House in late January, also said Trump told her the United States is "100 percent behind NATO."

Read more here:
NATO Critic Trump Agrees to Attend Brussels Summit in May

Lithuanias president has said the stationing of more than 1,000 NATO troops around 100 kilometres from its border with Russia sends a clear message about the alliances collective power in the Baltics.

Following Russian intervention in both Georgia and Ukraine in recent years, NATO decided to build up a presence in the countries bordering Russia and Belarus.

Never before has Lithuania hosted allied military forces of such size and integrity. It sends a very clear and important message to all: NATO stands strong and united, said President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Germanys Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, sent a similar message.

Today we have come together as NATO partners to reassure our strong commitment to the future of Lithuania. Never again will Lithuania stand alone.

NATO is expanding its presence in the region to levels not seen since the Cold War.

Germany will lead the troops in Lithuania, while there will be a US-led deployment in Poland, British-led forces in Estonia and Canadian-led troops in Latvia.

The election of President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the commitment of the United States to NATO. He has previously described the allies of the alliance as very unfair for not contributing more financially.

However, following a phone call with US Secretary of Defence, James Mattis, Von der Leyen said she felt reassured.

After what we discussed, I have no doubt about his deep conviction in the importance of NATO and the commitment of the Americans within NATO to what we have agreed, she said from Lithuanias Rukla military base.

She will travel to Washington where shell attend her first meeting with Mattis on Friday (February 10).

Trump had a phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday (February 5), in which the US president agreed to meet alliance leaders in Europe in May.

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Lithuania emphasises NATO strength in the Baltics - euronews

Thank you very much.

President Dodon, welcome to NATOs Headquarters. And thank you for the very intensive and positive discussion that we had today. The Secretary General regrets very much that he could not greet you today in person, but he is not feeling well today.

Nevertheless, he looks forward to future opportunities and also asked me to convey that NATOs message here with regard to your country, to Moldova, is very clear. NATO respects the sovereignty of all nations. We firmly believe that every nation has the right to set its own course. To choose its own alliances. Or to choose not to align with anyone.

NATO fully respects Moldovas constitutional neutrality. Our Individual Partnership Action Plan recognises that Moldova is constitutionally neutral and does not wish to join the NATO Alliance. This document is on the website of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry so our cooperation is transparent to all.

But neutrality is not the same as isolation. And NATO works closely with other neutral countries such as Switzerland and Austria.

Moldova is a close partner to NATO. And I appreciate Moldovas contribution to our KFOR mission in Kosovo. This supports peace in the Western Balkans, it gives Moldovan troops valuable practical experience, and it shows that Moldova is a responsible contributor to international security.

Neutrality is built upon a foundation of strong institutions and good governance. NATO is helping Moldova in both areas.

We provide Moldovan civilian and military personnel with training and education to help fight corruption in the defence sector.

We helped Moldova to build a strong professional military education system, with Bachelors and Masters degrees, and other professional courses.

So far, 350 Moldovans have graduated from these courses, and 275 Moldovans are currently enrolled in studies.

NATO is committed to improving the lives of ordinary Moldovan people. NATO has spent 4.5 million euros on destroying dangerous pesticides, anti-personnel mines, surplus munitions and dangerously stored rocket fuel.

Almost 1,300 Moldovans have attended NATO courses on topics including logistics, border security and emergency planning. And last year, NATO paid for a new cyber defence laboratory at the Technical University of Moldova, to provide training in cyber defence.

Many of these programmes are civilian and not military in nature. All of them help to make Moldova safer and more secure. And everything that NATO does has been requested by the government of Moldova.

This year, a new NATO Liaison Office will open in Chisinau. This is not a military base, but a small diplomatic mission staffed only by civilians. There will be no NATO troops in Moldova.

NATO has long had liaison offices of this kind in other partner countries, such as Russia, Ukraine and Georgia.

As requested by the Moldovan government, the Office will facilitate our support for Moldovas ongoing reforms. It will also increase transparency about what NATO is and what it does with Moldova, which we think will be very interesting and we hope also beneficial to the Moldovan public.

Mr President, NATO fully supports a stable, secure and neutral Moldova. It is important that Moldova continues its democratic reforms notably on fighting corruption and strengthening the judiciary.

And it is important that Moldova remains committed to the values shared by all European democracies.

So thank you again sir for coming here today. Its a great honour to welcome you once again to the NATO Headquarters.

Moldova can count on the friendship of NATO. And now we look forward to hearing your remarks.

Thank you.

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Joint press point - NATO HQ (press release)

Donald Trump has declared his strong support for Natoin his most forceful backing yet for an organisation he once branded obsolete.

It comes as the US President is set for a showdown in Brussels in the spring when he meets other Nato leaders, many of whom he has lambasted for not spending enough on defence.

Speaking during his first visit to the headquarters of US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, Mr Trump said he now strongly supported the bloc.

The US President, who once dismissed the trans-Atlantic alliance as irrelevant and out of date, said he would decide whether to protect Nato countries against Russian aggression based on whether those countries "have fulfilled their obligations to us".

But in an apparent U-turn, Mr Trump gave his full backing for the bloc. It followed a claim by Theresa May during her visit to Washington in January that Mr Trump had pledged his 100 per cent backing for the alliance.

Earlier, it emerged that the former reality TV host would be attending a Nato summit in Brussels in May.

NatoSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Mr Trump by phone to confirm the visit the second conversation between the two men since the 20 January inauguration.

A statement said: Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had a phone conversation with US President Donald J Trump on Sunday evening, where they reconfirmed the importance of the alliance in troubled times.

They reviewed progress on the fight against terrorism and on Nato defence spending, and stressed the need for continued efforts to ensure fair burden-sharing among all Nato Allies.

They also discussed the uptick in violence in eastern Ukraine, and prospects for a peaceful settlement.The Secretary General recalled Nato's consistent policy of strong defence and dialogue with Russia."

The issue of defence spending among Nato allies has taken on a renewed importance since the election of Mr Trump.

He has railed against Nato allies who fail to spend two per cent of their GDP on defence.

Theresa May used a recent EU summit to press Nato members to meet the target, presumably in a bid to maintain US support for the alliance.

Five countries spend at least two per cent: the US, the UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia.

James Mattis says Putin's threat to Nato is biggest threat since WWII

Mr Trump said as recently as January that Nato was obsolete.

"I said a long time ago that NATO had problems," he said. "Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago.

"Number two, the countries weren't paying what they're supposed to be paying.

That approach put him on a collision course with his defence secretary pick, James Mattis, who is a vocal supporter of Nato.

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Trump vows 'strong support' for Nato ahead of showdown in Brussels - The Independent

Michael Flynn "is expected to recommend Montenegro's accession into NATO to Trump in the coming days," a senior administration said. | Getty

White House national security adviser Michael Flynn will recommend that President Donald Trump support allowing the small Balkan nation of Montenegro to join NATO, POLITICO has learned despite strong opposition from Russia.

The move will be a major test of the new administration's policy toward Moscow, which considers any further eastward expansion of the Western military alliance a provocation.

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Other NATO countries and the U.S. Senate widely support granting membership to the nation of 650,000 people, which once was part of the former Yugoslavia. Montenegro's leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of fomenting instability inside the country to erode support for joining the alliance including alleged plots by pro-Russian movements last year to attack the parliament and assassinate the prime minister.

But Flynn, one of Trump's key advisers, "is expected to recommend Montenegro's accession into NATO to Trump in the coming days," a senior administration official said Monday in response to questions.

Trump, who criticized NATO as outdated during the campaign, has praised Putin and vowed to improve relations between Washington and Moscow. Now Montenegro will have an outsize role in revealing how much he is willing to back up the Cold War-era alliance at the expense of his budding relationship with the Russian leader.

What Russia has done against Montenegro is a unique case, said Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow and NATO expert at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank that supports the expansion. "No NATO candidate country has ever faced such a dire attack or threat in the process of finishing its membership into the alliance.

Trump could block the bid under NATO's rules, which require unanimous support from all members. Some supporters of Montenegro's application fear he will oppose extending NATO's defense guarantee to yet another small European country.

We've defended other nations' borders, while refusing to defend our own, Trump said in his inauguration speech. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first.

But in recent days his administration has taken steps that seem to demonstrate that advisers who push a stronger commitment to NATO and a tougher line against Moscow are having an influence.

Nikki Haley, Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, announced last week that the United States would not lift sanctions against Russia over its 2014 invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for a referendum on NATO membership, if Russia refuses to pull its forces out of the Crimea peninsula.

Montenegro, which broke away from a state union with Serbia to become independent in 2006, would become the third NATO member in the Western Balkans, behind Croatia and Albania, which both joined in 2009.

Twenty-three of 28 governments in the alliance have voted in favor of its bid and only the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands have yet to weigh in. If all NATO members approve Montenegro's membership it will be up to Montenegro's own parliament to ratify the accord.

NATO accession is a highly controversial issue in Montenegro. An opinion poll conducted in December 2016 has only 39.5 percent of Montenegrins in favor of NATO membership and 39.7 against. Other opinion polls have suggested similar margins.

Russia has long seen the region as a sphere of influence and has sought to prevent it from falling under the sway of Western powers. Russia has been accused of bankrolling anti-NATO and anti-European Union political voices throughout the region, including Montenegros Democratic Front, a stridently anti-NATO party that won 20 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections last fall.

The party accuses the Montenegrin government of using the NATO issue in order to distract from systemic governmental corruption.

In turn, Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovi has accused the Democratic Front of being a Russian proxy. A flood of Kremlin cash went not only to DF and its campaign, but also to media outlets and NGOs that ardently opposed NATO membership, Darmanovi wrote in an article for the Journal of Democracy last month.

In October, Montenegros special prosecutor announced that 20 members of a Russian nationalist terrorist cell had been arrested on charges of trying to destabilize the country. Exactly what happened is not yet clear, but the apprehended suspects told Montenegrin authorities about an alleged plot to seize the country's parliament building and assassinate Prime Minister Milo ukanovi.

Neboja Kaluerovi, Montenegro's ambassador to the United States, is adamant that the nation's preparations over the last seven years for NATO eligibility have transformed the country into a strong Western ally.

It helped bring about our institutions. It helped bring about our democracy. It helps bring stability and security to the whole region, he said in an interview.

Wide majorities of both parties in the U.S. Senate whose treaty authority would require its assent agree.

Senators on both sides of the aisle see Montenegro's bid as a test of resolve against the increasingly belligerent behavior by Russia, which U.S. intelligence agencies have also accused of trying to influence U.S. presidential election by hacking and leaking the emails of Democratic officials and supporters of Hillary Clinton.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of the treaty with Montenegro on Jan. 11. The panel's chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), predicts at least 98 senators will vote in favor.

Were trying to figure out how to make it happen," Corker told POLITICO. "It will pass 98-2 or 99-1, but getting it on the floor right now is difficult.

Russia hawks like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) worry a great deal that Russia will try to destabilize Montenegro before it becomes a full NATO member and has become one of the loudest voices pushing for a full Senate vote as soon as possible.

"Were doing everything we can to get that up, I promise you. he said.

I want to send a clear signal to our friends in Montenegro and to the Russians about how we feel, so I hope we can vote quickly, added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The sooner the better.

Because adding a nation to NATO is a treaty measure, support from two-thirds of senators is required to secure passage. But the Constitution delegates the power to negotiate treaties to the president and Trump could refuse to relay the ratification to NATO, indefinitely stalling the process.

Advocates for delay include Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has raised concerns about the United States committing to defend another country in which Russia has a strong interest. He blocked a Senate attempt to vote on the treaty in December.

I think that many are referring to this as a provocation to Russia, and also, I think NATO is too big already," Paul told POLITICO. "I think we should think long and hard if whether or not we are willing to go to war if Montenegro has a skirmish with somebody that surrounds them. Ultimately, joining NATO is not necessarily a benign thing.

I think there needs to be a debate about how big NATO needs to be, he added. We pay for basically the defense of the world. If we let Montenegro in, are they going to provide for their defense or are we going to provide for their defense?

Kaluerovi insists the government's desire to join the Western alliance should not be interpreted as a sign of aggression against Russia, but rather a desire to be part of the Western world.

The two pillars of our foreign policy since the day of regaining our independence have been NATO integration and EU integration processes, he said. Simply, we belong to this part of the world.

We are doing that not against anybody, but because we think it is in our favor, he added.

The rest is here:
Flynn to recommend Trump back NATO membership for Montenegro - Politico