Donald Trump Changes His Mind on NATO and China… But Hasn’t Made up with Russia
Jens NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US President Donald Trump
Washington, 16 Rajab 1438/13 April 2017 (MINA) – US President Donald Trump has cooled some of his previous foreign policy rhetoric overnight but admitted relations with Russia may have taken a turn for the worse in recent days, CITY A.M. reported..
After hosting NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg Trump said the organisation was “no longer obsolete” and the White House would do more to help its partners in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trump has previously said the US pays an unfair amount into Nato and has questioned its purpose.
The US commander-in-chief said at a joint press conference: “They made a change… now they do fight terrorism.
“I said it [Nato] was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete,” Trump added according to reports by the BBC.
All-time low
The meeting came hours after US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had a frosty meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Trump remarked relations with the Kremlin “may be at an all-time low” while Putin told Russian TV the level of trust between the two nations had “not improved but has rather deteriorated
Tillerson’s meeting with both the Russian premier and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was set against a backdrop of increasing tensions predicated by the White House’s move last week to launch a missile strike at long-term Russian ally Syria.
Despite reports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons as part of the country’s civil war, Russian has refused to budge on its support and condemn the country’s leader. Instead, it has questioned the reports, with Lavrov most recently questioning whether the reports had been faked by Assad’s enemies.
China u-turn
Meanwhile back in the US, reports in the Wall Street Journal revealed a softening of Trump’s stance towards China and its currency.
In an interview with the US newspaper, Trump he would not label China a currency manipulator, this was despite having previously promised to do so when taking office.
“I think our dollar is getting too strong and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me,” Trump said. (T/RS5/RS1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
