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[webfact]

U.S. reverses course and offers new dates for NATO talks

By Arshad Mohammed and Robin Emmott

REUTERS

 

U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson looks on during a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, March 18, 2017. REUTERS/Lintao Zhang/Pool

 

WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson proposed new dates on Tuesday for a NATO meeting, the State Department said, after he initially decided to skip the talks and rebuffed the alliance's efforts to reschedule them.

 

Tillerson's decision to miss his first meeting with NATO foreign ministers, set for April 5-6 in Brussels, unsettled European allies who worried it reopened questions about U.S. President Donald Trump's commitment to the alliance.

 

Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that Tillerson would stay in the United States to attend Trump's expected April 6-7 talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida. U.S. officials also said Tillerson would visit Russia later in April.

 

The alliance had offered to change the meeting dates so Tillerson could attend both it and the Xi talks but the U.S. State Department rebuffed the idea, a former U.S. official and a former NATO diplomat, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday.

 

On Tuesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the department put forward new dates for a meeting when Tillerson could come, noting that such a decision would have to be made by consensus among the 28 NATO members.

 

"We are certainly appreciative of the effort to accommodate Secretary Tillerson," Toner told reporters. "We have offered alternative dates that the secretary could attend."

 

He also sought to allay European concerns by saying that "the United States remains 100 percent committed to NATO."

It was not yet clear if the NATO meeting would be rescheduled to accommodate Tillerson.

 

During his election campaign and on the eve of taking office in January, Trump called the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation "obsolete," although he has since said he strongly supports the alliance.

 

'UNFORTUNATE SYMBOLISM'

 

"No matter how you spin it, this is unfortunate symbolism," said one senior European diplomat of Tillerson's plan to skip the April 5-6 NATO Brussels meeting, saying it undid the work of Trump's vice president and defence minister, who visited NATO headquarters in February to provide reassurances after Trump's criticism of the alliance.

 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was in Washington on Tuesday. Posing for photographs with Defense Secretary James Mattis, he declined to answer a reporter's questions on what signal it sent that Tillerson did not plan to attend the meeting, according to a reporter who attended the session.

 

Some allies, particularly in the former Soviet bloc, are acutely sensitive to any sign of waning U.S. interest in their defence as they deal with a more assertive Russia.

 

Concerns that Trump is too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the West has sought to isolate for annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, made Tillerson's expected visit to Brussels all the more pressing, European allies said.

 

Tillerson worked with Russia's government for years as a top executive at Exxon Mobil Corp, and has questioned sanctions against Moscow that he said could harm U.S. businesses.

 

"We needed to hear his vision for the alliance," said a diplomat due to attend the April ministerial meeting.

 

NATO's quarterly meetings are closed-door sessions over about two days in which governments discuss security strategies and approve top secret documents designed to guide the nuclear-armed alliance in areas ranging from training in Afghanistan to defences against Iranian missiles.

 

Given the U.S. role as the de facto head of the alliance, it is rare for the country's top diplomat to miss a NATO meeting. The last time was during the Iraq war in 2003, when Colin Powell was forced to cancel at the last moment.

 

Trump himself is expected in Brussels for a NATO summit in May, although the date is still under discussion. NATO has proposed holding that meeting on May 25, a NATO diplomat said.

 

Several diplomats said they were unhappy that Tillerson had not offered to hold a NATO meeting in Washington later this week, given that most alliance foreign ministers and Stoltenberg will be there for a meeting of an international coalition against the Islamic State militant group.

 

A State Department spokeswoman said on Monday night that all NATO members except Croatia would be at those talks. On Tuesday, Toner said Croatia would in fact attend, saying the department had made "a late night gaffe" and adding, "in no way do we want to diminish Croatia's valuable role within the alliance."

 

(Reporting by Robin Emmott and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Gareth Jones and Frances Kerry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-22

[NanLaew]

22 minutes ago, webfact said:

... "the United States remains 100 percent committed to NATO." ...

And in other fake news...

[stander]

"The State Department insisted Tillerson will meet most NATO foreign ministers at an anti-"Islamic State" (IS) conference later this week, adding that the decision was not unprecedented, and that former secretaries of state had missed the April meeting in 2003 and 1999."

http://www.dw.com/en/tillerson-offers-new-dates-for-nato-meeting/a-38059465

[Thaidream]

This is another example of the complete and utter incompetence of the Trump Administration and the Secretary of State is showing just how unqualified he is for the position.

Any neophyte would know that ignoring a top level NATO meeting would send a negative message and cause insecurity in Europe.

It's time for Nato to send a message to the US- to either put up and support the alliance or the alliance may seek other support.

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

This is another example of the complete and utter incompetence of the Trump Administration and the Secretary of State is showing just how unqualified he is for the position.

Any neophyte would know that ignoring a top level NATO meeting would send a negative message and cause insecurity in Europe.

It's time for Nato to send a message to the US- to either put up and support the alliance or the alliance may seek other support.

This is Trump team's way to show that US is now in bed with Putin's Russia and wishes to cut ties to the western world.

 

Trump prefers his own friends and allies over NATO. The message has been send and heard all over the World and it is bad for the West including USA, good for Putin's Russia.

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson proposed new dates on Tuesday for a NATO meeting, the State Department said, after he initially decided to skip the talks and rebuffed the alliance's efforts to reschedule them.

Tillerson doing the old Texas two step. 

[elgordo38]

With all these change in courses is Tillerson maybe related to Trump??

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, oilinki said:

This is Trump team's way to show that US is now in bed with Putin's Russia and wishes to cut ties to the western world.

 

Trump prefers his own friends and allies over NATO. The message has been send and heard all over the World and it is bad for the West including USA, good for Putin's Russia.

It's hard to tell what's going on.  Trump now says he's going to attend the NATO meeting:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/trump-nato-leaders-meeting/index.html

Quote

White House: Trump will attend NATO leaders meeting in May

If that's true, this will piss off Russia big time.  Along with this:

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nato-montenegro-exclusive-idUSKBN16S2VH

Quote

Exclusive: Tillerson urges Senate ratification of Montenegro's NATO membership

 

Huge news.

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, stander said:

former secretaries of state had missed the April meeting in 2003 and 1999."

Maybe a little busy?

April 1999-US was engaged with other NATO forces against Serb military actions in Kosovo

http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1999/03/29/kosovo.html

 

Otherwise did attend?

April 2003-Colin Powell attends NATO meeting

http://www.nato.int/multi/photos/2003/m030403f.htm

http://www.nato.int/docu/comm/2003/04-natohq/0304-hq.htm

 

 

 

[Silurian]

I'm sure that Tillerson will do his utmost best in a job that he could care less about. He didn't want to be Sec of State and it sure seems like his actions show as much. Another waste of space in the whole waste of space White House.

 

“I didn’t want this job. I didn’t seek this job.” He (Tillerson) paused to let that sink in.
A beat or two passed before an aide piped up to ask him why he said yes.
“My wife told me I’m supposed to do this.”

 

Rex Tillerson Didn’t Want to Be Secretary of State, But His Wife Talked Him Into It

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/tillerson-reveals-he-didnt-want-to-be-secretary-of-state.html

 

[NanLaew]

20 hours ago, Thaidream said:

It's time for Nato to send a message to the US- to either put up and support the alliance or the alliance may seek other support.

Seek other support from where? Maybe asking France and Germany to up their contributions to meet the unilaterally agreed minimum 2% of defence spending commitment of the other European NATO members would be a start?

[mrwebb8825]

22 hours ago, Thaidream said:

It's time for Nato to send a message to the US- to either put up and support the alliance or the alliance may seek other support.

Put up and support the alliance? Really? The US pays the lion's share now. I wish they would puff up their collective chests and make such a bold claim. The US could then say; "Fine, we'll just spend our billions at home instead. Good luck."