Tillerson adds NATO to agenda
After shunning an April summit, the top U.S. diplomat agrees to meet allies this week in Brussels.
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with NATO allies this week in Brussels, a move that could quell controversy over his earlier decision to skip a long-planned summit of the transatlantic alliance.
The State Department said Friday that Tillerson added a stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels to a previously scheduled trip to the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Tillerson will be in Ankara on Thursday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria and to “reaffirm Turkey’s important role in ensuring regional stability,” the State Department said.
The next day, he will go to NATO, the State Department said. North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials were attempting to put together a session with the other 27 allied nations.
Last week, news that Tillerson would miss the NATO ministerial meeting set for April 5-6 roiled the alliance. Administration officials said the secretary would have to be in Washington to attend President Trump’s first face-to-face meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 6-7.
At the same time, Tillerson’s aides announced he would be traveling to Moscow the following week.
Criticism was swift from European allies and also from several former American diplomats and key U.S. lawmakers, who said the decision raised questions about the Trump administration’s commitment to NATO.
During his campaign, Trump called the alliance “obsolete,” although more recently he has voiced support for it while also demanding members spend more money on defense.
In response, Tillerson’s aides said they were exchanging possible alternative dates with NATO to attempt to arrange a meeting in which all parties could participate. It was not yet clear whether Friday’s meeting will take the place of the April 5-6 session, which as of late Friday remained on NATO’s formal calendar.
Diplomats considered the ministerial meeting as especially important because it will lay the groundwork for a May 25 NATO summit of heads of state and government, which Trump has said he will attend.