Donald Trump lectures NATO members on cost sharing
The Latest on President Donald Trump’s first trip abroad (all times local): 4:48 p.m. President Donald Trump is lecturing members of the NATO alliance to pay their fair share on defense during a ceremony at NATO headquarters. Trump says NATO members must “finally contribute their fair share” and meet their obligations. The president has been urging NATO leaders to live up to a 2011 decision to increase spending on defense to 2 percent of gross domestic product by 2024. Trump says 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should and he says it’s “not fair” to the people of the United States. He says many of these nations owe “massive” amounts of money from previous years. The president spoke as the other NATO leaders looked on. ___ 4:41 p.m. President Donald Trump is calling for a moment of silence for the victims of the Manchester concert attack. The president is speaking at a dedication ceremony for a new 9/11 memorial at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He says that “today is a day for both remembrance and resolve” and that the attack demonstrates “the depths of the evil we face with terrorism.” Trump has urged NATO members to spend more money on defense. ___ 4:37 p.m. President Donald Trump is attending a dedication service for two new memorials at NATO headquarters. Trump stood on as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg unveiled two sections of the Berlin Wall that divided the German city until 1989. The pieces, standing together, form a monument that symbolizes the efforts to end the division of Europe. Trump and Stoltenberg are also unveiling a steel beam from the 107th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers that collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. It’s a reminder of NATO’s commitment to its collective defense clause — so called Article 5. It has only ever been activated once, after 9/11. ___ 4:35 p.m. President Donald Trump is pledging to “get to the bottom” of leaks of sensitive information. In a written statement Thursday, Trump called recent leaks “deeply troubling.” He said he is asking the Justice Department and other agencies to “launch a complete review of this matter.” Trump adds that “if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Trump’s comments come amid anger from Britain over intelligence leaks and a decision by Manchester police to withhold information from the United States about the investigation into this week’s bombing. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will make it clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies “must remain secure.” ___ 4:20 p.m. President Donald Trump has arrived at NATO headquarters for an afternoon of meetings with fellow world leaders. Trump was greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the organization’s new headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg visited the White House last month and touted NATO’s benefits at a joint news conference with Trump. Trump had previously questioned NATO’s relevance. ___ 4:15 p.m. President Donald Trump has done an about-face on NATO, the military alliance he once dismissed as ineffective. Trump says at a White House news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that the organization is “no longer obsolete.” As a candidate, Trump said the 28-member organization had outlived its usefulness. Since taking office, he has expressed support for NATO but has reinforced his view that European members must meet a 2014 agreement for member countries to boost defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product within a decade. Just the U.S. and a handful of other countries are meeting the target. Trump says NATO countries will be more secure and the partnership strengthened if other countries pay their fair share and stop relying on the United States. He’s set to participate in a memorial dedication and dinner with other NATO member leaders. ___ 4:04 p.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will press U.S. President Donald Trump on keeping shared intelligence confidential, after leaks from the investigation of the Manchester concert attack. Speaking to reporters upon arrival at a NATO summit in Brussels, May said that the U.S.-British defense and security partnership is built on trust. But she says, “part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently.” She said that when she sees Trump at the summit Thursday she will stress “that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure.” She said the Manchester attack shows why it’s important for the international community and NATO to do more about the fight against terrorism. ___ 3:59 p.m. President Donald Trump is on his way to NATO headquarters in Brussels for his first meeting with a group he criticized mercilessly during his campaign. Trump has rattled the group with musings about pulling out of the pact because other countries aren’t dedicating enough money to defense and called the alliance “obsolete.” But he’s softened his stance considerably since taking office in January. Trump is set to deliver remarks at the unveiling of memorials dedicated to the Berlin Wall and one that will serve as a reminder of NATO’s commitment to its collective defense clause — so called Article 5. It has only been activated once, after 9/11. He’ll also attend a working dinner with other member leaders. ___ 3:32 p.m. Several hundred protesters have gathered outside the NATO summit in Brussels to demonstrate against NATO and U.S. President Donald Trump. The group was tiny compared to the 10,000 demonstrators who came out Wednesday to protest Trump’s visit. But the summit won’t start until late afternoon, so the crowds could still swell. Security officials have cordoned off a large protest zone outside NATO headquarters. Protesters there are holding banners that say “NATO game over” and “peace.” At one point, some 50 demonstrators tried to block a road using banners. Stephanie Demblon of the “Agir pour la paix” pacifist group says Trump “makes people scared” and says he’s “shown over the past months that
Barack Obama urges European leaders to work with Donald Trump
President Barack Obama used a meeting with key European leaders Friday to urge them to work with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump and to discuss steps necessary to resolve the conflicts in Syria and eastern Ukraine, the White House said. Obama’s meeting with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain was likely his last in such a setting before he leaves office. The session expands on lengthy talks he held the day before with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Obama didn’t speak with reporters before departing for Peru on Air Force One. The White House said Obama thanked his counterparts for their cooperation during his two terms in office. He urged them to work on common challenges with a Trump administration on the “basis of the core values that define the United States and Europe as open democracies.” Since Obama’s arrival on Wednesday on his sixth and last trip to Germany as president, he and Merkel have focused several meetings on issues of globalization and trans-Atlantic cooperation. The talks come largely in the context of what the election of Trump will mean to efforts to seek peace in Ukraine and Syria, the strength of the NATO alliance, trade agreements, efforts to fight climate change, and other pressing matters. The White House said in a summary of the meeting that the leaders expressed grave concern about the humanitarian situation in Aleppo. They agreed that increased attacks by the Syrian regime and its supporters, including Russia and Iran, should be immediately halted. They also are calling for humanitarian access to the city to be restored. On Ukraine, the White House said the leaders agreed that sanctions against Russia must remain in place until it meets its commitments to resolving the conflict. Obama also briefed his counterparts on the progress made in Iraq in liberating Mosul from Islamic State militants. The White House said the leaders agreed on the need for stability after the city is liberated. Obama also encouraged leaders to continue efforts to expand information sharing throughout the European Union to help disrupt terror attacks. At a news conference with Obama on Thursday, Merkel diplomatically said she was approaching the incoming Trump administration “with an open mind.” Around the world, many are looking to Merkel – one of the longest serving leaders of a major world power, leader of Europe’s largest economy and one of the biggest U.S. trade partners with the U.S. – for leadership as Obama leaves office. Obama seemed to underscore that reality as he effusively thanked Merkel for her “deep friendship.” He said he couldn’t “ask for a steadier or more reliable partner on the world stage,” while adding that if she chooses to run again for a fourth term next year, he’d vote for her – if he could. Joining the two leaders Friday were the heads of countries at the center of many of the European Union’s coming challenges. British Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing her country for negotiations to leave the trade bloc. Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces economic woes in his country that have contributed to financial instability in the EU. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi‘s already shaky economy has been rocked by tens of thousands of refugees. And French President Francois Hollande’s socialist government faces a major challenge from the far-right in elections next year. Trump has applauded the British decision to exit the EU, or “Brexit,” and has had meetings with Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party and a key player in the British decision to leave. For his part, Obama said Thursday his hope was that the Brexit negotiations be “conducted in a smooth and orderly and transparent fashion and preserve as closely as possible the economic and political and security relationships between the UK and EU.” Still, Obama noted that he considered the EU “one of the world’s great political and economic achievements.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
