Nato chief fails to charm Trump, as Israel risks wrecking Iran deal
· EUobserverNato secretary general Mark Rutte (l) visited Washington on Wednesday (Source: Nato)
Nato chief fails to charm Trump, as Israel risks wrecking Iran deal
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By Andrew Rettman,
The US president denigrated Western allies and Greenland after meeting Nato chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday (8 April) in Washington, while Israel massacred civilians in Lebanon.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” said Trump on social media after meeting Nato secretary general and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.
“REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”, he added.
His comments referred to Nato allies’ refusal to join his war on Iran and to let him annex Greenland from Denmark.
For his part, Rutte spent two hours in the White House and left without the normal press conference or photo opportunities, but later told the CNN broadcaster: “He [Trump] is clearly disappointed with many Nato allies, and I can see his point”.
“This was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends,” he said.
“Very frank” is usually diplomatic jargon for an ill-tempered meeting that led to no agreement.
Rutte is to stay in the US until Sunday, where he will attend a meeting of the ‘Bilderberg Club’ at the weekend — an elite and secretive group of politicians, business leaders, and intellectuals, created in 1954 to foster transatlantic dialogue.
Speaking to press earlier on Wednesday, Trump’s spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt also said: “Nato [members] turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks”.
“It’s something the president has discussed,” she said of his numerous threats to quit the 80-year-old alliance in the past four months.
Fragile ceasefire
The Trump-Rutte meeting came after the US and Iran had agreed on a two-week ceasefire deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.
The move paved the way for European allies to start escorting ships through the war zone, in line with Trump’s previous demands and in what might help mend transatlantic relations.
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Nato secretary general Mark Rutte (l) visited Washington on Wednesday (Source: Nato)
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Author Bio
Andrew Rettman is EUobserver’s foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.