KABUL (SW) – NATO leaders have gathered in London to mark the 70th anniversary amid multiple challenges faced by the Alliance.
At a joint press briefing with the Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg at the US ambassador's residence in London, the US President Donald Trump criticized French President Emmanuel Macron. He called the French President's comment last month that American indifference to the alliance is leading to the "brain death of NATO" — "very insulting" and "nasty".
Stoltenberg and Trump discussed the progress made on burden sharing in the Alliance, with European Allies and Canada due to spend $130 billion extra by the end of 2020, a figure that will rise to $ 400 by the end of 2024. The Secretary General stressed that this was unprecedented, and making NATO stronger.
They also discussed further improvements to the readiness of Allied forces, stepping up the fight against terrorism and addressing other strategic challenges. The Secretary General stressed that NATO is the most enduring and successful alliance in history as it continues to adapt to the evolving threats Allies face.
Trump’s tough talk on France came just a day after the United States threatened new tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion in French products, including wine, cheese and yogurt — a response, Trump’s chief trade negotiator said, to a French digital services tax that the United States concluded is discriminating against American Internet companies, the Washington Post reported.
The President, along with other world leaders, will be hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace later Tuesday evening.
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