Rubio tries to defuse NATO alarm on Trump’s intentions

Brussels: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO are seeking to reassure wary NATO allies of the US commitment to the alliance.

Rubio on Thursday decried “hysteria and hyperbole” in the media about President Donald Trump’s intentions despite persistent signals from Washington that NATO as it has existed for 75 years may no longer be relevant.

Rubio and newly confirmed US ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker are in Brussels for a meeting of alliance foreign ministers at which many are hoping Rubio will shed light on US security plans in Europe.

“The United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been,” Rubio told reporters as he greeted NATO chief Mark Rutte before the meeting began. “And some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted.” “President Trump’s made clear he supports NATO,” Rubio said. “We’re going to remain in NATO.”

“We want NATO to be stronger, we want NATO to be more visible and the only way NATO can get stronger, more visible is if our partners, the nation states that comprise this important alliance, have more capability,” he said. In a statement, Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO will be stronger and more effective than ever before, and I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity.”