NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is set to visit the United States next week. Despite a NATO spokesperson describing it as a “long-planned visit,” US President Trump had previously warned that the US might withdraw from the Western military alliance due to the lack of support from European allies in the Iran conflict.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart stated on Wednesday (April 1st), “I can confirm that the Secretary-General will conduct a long-planned visit in Washington D.C. next week.”
A White House official also confirmed Rutte’s upcoming visit, with The Wall Street Journal being the first to report this news.
Details regarding Rutte’s visit are currently not clear.
Trump had expressed dissatisfaction over European NATO members’ refusal to send warships to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in the current Iran conflict, as well as some European allies denying the US the use of their military bases, prompting him to consider the US exiting this military alliance.
On Wednesday, during an Easter luncheon at the White House, Trump criticized allies like France and the UK as being “paper tigers.”
Previously, Trump had warned European allies facing an energy crisis on Tuesday to either purchase oil from the US or transport oil themselves through the Strait of Hormuz. He mentioned that these allies need to start learning how to fight for themselves.
Earlier on Wednesday, in an interview with The Telegraph of the UK, Trump said that the US NATO membership was “not on the table,” and warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not fear European countries.
“I’ve never been influenced by NATO,” Trump told The Telegraph. “I’ve always known they’re paper tigers, and by the way, Putin knows that too.”
He added, “We have some very bad allies in NATO. Hopefully, we won’t need them forever. I don’t think we will need them.”
NATO was established in 1949, with its members including European countries, the US, and Canada, to resist the risk of Soviet aggression. Since then, NATO has been a cornerstone of Western security.
The US was one of the 12 founding members of NATO, which now has 32 member countries, primarily concentrated in Europe.
(This article references reports from Reuters.)