Mark Rutte praises ‘very frank’ talks but declines to say if president discussed potential withdrawal from alliance
Mark Rutte, the secretary general of Nato, has said Donald Trump was “clearly disappointed” that the US’s allies had refused to join its war against Iran, following a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
Speaking to CNN after his private meeting with the US president, Rutte declined to say directly whether Trump raised his threat to withdraw from the military alliance over the Iran war, but described the exchange as a “very frank, very open” discussion between “two good friends”.
The meeting between Trump and Rutte came at a delicate moment, less than a day after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire deal that includes opening the strait of Hormuz. The fragile agreement was struck after Trump threatened to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, warning that a “whole civilization will die” if Tehran failed to allow safe passage through the strait by a Tuesday evening deadline imposed by the president.
Prior to the meeting, Trump had escalated his criticism of the 77-year-old alliance, calling it a “paper tiger” and suggesting the US may consider leaving after Nato member countries ignored his call for military assistance to help reopen the critical waterway – the closure of which has sent global oil prices soaring.
