WASHINGTON, Nov 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump will visit
Britain for NATO’s 70th-anniversary summit next month, the White House said
Friday, in a trip falling days before the country votes in a general
election.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to retain power in the
December 12 election that has been dominated by Brexit — a hugely divisive
plan for which Trump has voiced strong support.
The president, who backs Brexit, even in a “no-deal” scenario with the
European Union, has already roiled the election campaign by suggesting last
month that the terms of Johnson’s current EU divorce deal mean London could
struggle to continue to trade with the US.
The White House said in a statement that Trump and First Lady Melania would
visit Britain from December 2 to 4, attending the NATO gathering and a
reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Trump has repeatedly expressed criticism of NATO — unprecedented for a US
president. In addition, the summit will take place at a time of turmoil
within the Western alliance.
French President Emmanuel Macron this week said the bloc was undergoing
“brain death,” a claim that prompted a fierce response from German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and others.
Merkel said his comments were “drastic” and US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo insisted NATO was “important, critical.”
In a meeting with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Macron’s statements “unacceptable.”
Erdogan’s visit to Washington also highlighted one of the many challenges
facing the alliance: Turkey’s purchase of Russian anti-aircraft missiles.
The United States has ejected Turkey from the F-35 advanced stealth
warplane program in retaliation.
Fireworks can also be expected over Trump’s sometimes bruising campaign to
get other NATO members to increase defense budgets. The president complains
bitterly that allies are too reliant on the US military’s security umbrella.
The White House said Trump would use the summit “to review the Alliance’s
unprecedented progress on burden-sharing, including adding more than $100
billion in new defense spending since 2016.”
He will also emphasize NATO’s need to combat “the threats of tomorrow,
including those emanating from cyberspace, those affecting our critical
infrastructure and telecommunications networks, and those posed by
terrorism,” the White House said.
Following a meeting the day before between Trump and NATO chief Jens
Stoltenberg, the White House said in a Friday statement the two leaders
“agreed that all Allies should reach a defense spending target of 2 percent
of gross domestic product.”
And in a reference to US concerns that Chinese companies could use 5G
telecommunications infrastructure to spy, the two leaders also concurred that
NATO members should ensure “that only trusted and reliable telecommunications
providers and equipment are allowed into 5G networks.”