‘Nervous’ Nato to meet Donald Trump months after he described it ‘obsolete’ – Express.co.uk

NATO officials are hoping Wednesdays meeting with the president will be a chance to improve relations between him and the alliance.

When Donald Trump was still a presidential candidate, he said that the alliance is obsolete because it was not taking care of terror and very unfair to the United States because only five of the 28 member states have reached the two per cent of GDP defence spending goal.

Mr Trump has demanded NATO members increase the amount of GDP they pay to the alliance.

GETTY

GETTY

When were paying and nobody else is really paying, you feel like the jerk

Donald Trump

During his campaign trail, he said that he would consider withdrawing the US from the alliance.

He said: Its possible that were going to have to let NATO go,

When were paying and nobody else is really paying, you feel like the jerk.

Deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Christian Molling, said: My impression is that in Brussels everybody is hypersensitive because of this one word obsolete.

Getty Images

1 of 11

Every member country, no matter how large or small, has an equal say in discussions and decisions. Photo shows: Signing the North Atlantic Treaty which marked the beginning of NATO, 1949.

GETTY

Everybody is still nervous.

However Mr Trumps aides have since made statements supporting NATO with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussing unity and strength when he visited the alliance.

The meeting comes one month before Mr Trump will travel to Brussels in May for a gathering of NATO leaders at the alliance headquarters.

NATO officials are planning a meeting to discuss the issues of money and buildings when he visits on May 25.

They will also ask Mr Trump to unveil a memorial for the 9/11 New York terror attacks which will be installed in the headquarters.

NATO is hoping that countries that do not meet the target of two per cent of their GDP being spent on defence spending will be able to discuss a plan about how they are hoping to meet it.

Currently only a handful of nations, including the UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia meet this target.

However the German Foreign Minister has been reluctant to say that Germany will meet the target, claiming money is just one way a country can contribute to the alliance.

The deputy director of the German Council on Foreign Relations, Christian Molling, will emphasise to Mr Trump how much America has profited from the stability that NATO has offered.

He said: NATO has done a great deal in bringing security and stability to Europe and to other parts of the world, and also the US has profited from the stability.

View post:
'Nervous' Nato to meet Donald Trump months after he described it 'obsolete' - Express.co.uk