2024-02-17 10:28:09
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a telephone conversation discussed the importance of maintaining the unity of the North Atlantic bloc and the priorities of the meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers scheduled for Thursday in Washington.
As Day.Az reports with reference to Interfax, the Pentagon reported this.
“Austin reaffirmed the United States’ full support for the Alliance and noted the importance of strengthening collective deterrence and defense,” the statement said.
It also noted that Austin and Stoltenberg “emphasized the importance of NATO on the world stage and the bloc’s supremacy as the gold standard of alliances – the most successful in history.”
At the same time, the interlocutors believe that “despite disagreements, allies can always unite around the main task – to protect each other and ensure the safety of people.”
They said that “America’s allies are a powerful force multiplier, and when NATO stands as one, adversaries listen.”
As reported, last week former US President Donald Trump recalled that during his presidency he insisted that NATO countries increase defense spending. Trump said that in a conversation with the president of one of the major countries of the alliance, on behalf of the United States, he refused to protect it during an attack, since this state does not spend enough money on defense. This statement caused criticism in most NATO countries.
The Pentagon reported that Austin and Stoltenberg, during a telephone conversation, agreed on the importance of increasing “transatlantic defense production” and also touched upon the topic of “the positive results of the meeting of the contact group on the defense of Ukraine,” which took place the day before.