U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the start of the NATO summit at their new headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Breaking Defense: NATO Braces For Trump, White House Says Business As Usual
As the president prepares to head to Europe to meet both NATO and Putin, his administration is taking pains to keep expectations low, and portray a 'steady as she goes' attitude to both summits.
WASHINGTON The next two weeks will be a heady time for the NATO alliance, as President Donald Trump lands on the continent to attend the annual NATO summit in Brussels, take a pit stop in London, and hold a controversial one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
Spanning both events is the biannual Farnborough air show in the U.K., where defense companies and allied nations toggle between the welcome news of increased European defense spending and deeper cooperation against the Russian threat, and the conflicting messages sent from Washington over its commitments to NATO allies and existing trade agreements.
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WNU Editor: I do not expect the U.S. President to change any minds at the NATO summit, and I do not expect these NATO leaders will change President Trump's mind either. But there is a problem with NATO, and that is the unwillingness of many members to step-up their financial commitment to the organization.
