Mark Rutte meets Donald Trump in Washington, after the latest events: the US-Iran truce and the many criticisms of NATO
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, April 8, in Washington. The moment comes after the White House leader announced a two-week truce with Iran.
Rutte meets Trump on Wednesday. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Although Trump has frequently criticized NATO and threatened to leave the alliance, he had words of praise for Rutte, describing him as “a formidable guy” and “great”.
“He's coming to see me on Wednesday, as you know. He's a terrific guy. The general secretary is great,” Trump said Monday.
During the visit, Rutte will also be received by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to a NATO official, the visit has been planned for a long time and is aimed at consolidating the results of the NATO summit in The Hague the previous year, when member states committed, under pressure from Trump, to significantly increase military spending.
Relations between the US and its European partners are strained due to US rhetoric towards the conflict in the Middle East and pressure on military support for Israel and other states involved. “NATO is a paper tiger”, said the US president.
US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had reached a ceasefire agreement with Iran for a period of two weeks, shortly before the ultimatum expired. The American leader specified that the ceasefire was conditional on Tehran's acceptance to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
