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WORLD NEWS Thursday 5 december 2019

NATO downplays divisions as infighting roils alliance

By LORNE COOK and JILL but it opens the path,” he
LAWLESS said.
Associated Press “I consider that the diverg-
WATFORD, England (AP) ing views that my com-
— NATO leaders sought ments may have prompt-
Wednesday to paper over ed have been cleared
differences like the military up.”
alliance’s future priorities He said NATO “debates
but insisted they would re- should be about other
spond as one in the event things than budgets and
of an attack on any of the finances.”
29 member countries. Stoltenberg noted that Eu-
Ending a summit just north ropean allies and Canada
of London to mark NATO’s have added $130 billion
70th anniversary, the lead- to their defense spending
ers announced that they since 2016, even as Trump
would set up a commission has complained that they
of experts to study political are too slow to boost their
decision-making. military budgets.
That appears to be a direct “This is unprecedented, this
response to French Presi- is making us stronger,” Stol-
dent Emmanuel Macron’s tenberg said of the spend-
recent lament about the ing effort.
“brain death” of the trans- After Russia annexed the
Atlantic alliance. Crimean Peninsula in 2014,
“We stand together, all for NATO countries halted
one and one for all,” NATO their post-Cold War spend-
Secretary-General Jens ing cuts and began to raise
Stoltenberg told reporters Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for a NATO leaders meeting at The Grove hotel and spending.
after chairing the meeting resort in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. They pledged to “move
at a luxury hotel and golf Associated Press toward” spending 2% of
resort. “Our commitment their annual gross domes-
to Article 5, the collective pean Union are particularly NATO officials have point- next few years but for the tic product on national de-
defense clause of our alli- concerned as to what may edly suggested that they next 70 years.” fense by 2024.
ance, is iron-clad.” transpire. were more impressed by There were a few sour Trump said Tuesday that
Ahead of the summit, Ma- The worry in many EU capi- Berlin’s proposal. notes though. much more needs to be
cron had complained tals is that some extremist After three summits in con- Erdogan didn’t speak to done.
about a lack of U.S. lead- fighters escaped during secutive years, the leaders waiting media. Trump ar- “You could make the case
ership. President Donald Turkey’s offensive, and that decided that they would rived via a different en- that they’ve been delin-
Trump branded his remarks the fighting could spark a take a year off and meet trance, away from media, quent for 25-30 years,”
as “very disrespectful,” new wave of refugees. again in 2021. and said he would leave Trump said. The figure of
while Turkish President Re- To help ease tensions, That means there won’t be without holding a news 2%, he added, “is a very
cep Tayyip Erdogan sug- leaders agreed to “a for- another one until after the conference. low number, it really should
gested that Macron him- warding-looking reflec- next presidential election He also called Prime Min- be 4.”
self was “brain dead.” tion process” to be led by in the United States, which ister Justin Trudeau “two- Johnson said that on
The infighting is mostly due Stoltenberg. Details were is by far NATO’s most pow- faced” after a video Wednesday “country after
to Turkey’s offensive in sketchy, but the commis- erful and influential mem- emerged showing the Ca- country pledged or gave
northern Syria, which be- sion, “drawing on relevant ber country. nadian leader gossiping an account of how they
gan in October. expertise,” would study Summit host Prime Minister about Trump. were going to meet the
Macron has complained ways “to further strengthen Boris Johnson — also busy Macron refused to apolo- pledge of 2%.”
that Trump pulled U.S. NATO’s political dimension with a divisive British elec- gize for his remarks, saying Luxembourg Prime Min-
troops out of the region including consultation.” tion campaign — was up- they had ignited a debate ister Xavier Bettel con-
without warning his NATO Germany and France had beat, saying “there was a at NATO about important ceded that “we have ex-
allies; a move that Turkey both put forward similar mood of very great solidar- strategic issues. perienced easier times.
saw as a greenlight to send schemes, although Ma- ity and determination and “When there’s ice, ice- But we’re allies after all
its troops in. cron riled many allies with a willingness to push NATO breaker ships are needed. and we’re going to speak
Countries across the Euro- his pre-summit remarks and forward, not just for the It makes some loud noise, about everything.”q