President Donald Trump his holding a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. You can watch a live stream above.
Stoltenberg met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday afternoon prior to their joint press conference. It was the first meeting between Stoltenberg and Trump, who had spoken on the phone twice previously.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of NATO in the Oval Office of the White House April 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Getty)
Trump recently signed off on paperwork allowing Montenegro to join NATO, according to the White House, following the U.S. Senate’s vote approving the ratification.
Trump will be traveling to Europe, and anywhere outside the United States, for the first time as president next month to meet with NATO leaders in Brussels, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a statement earlier this week:
Since its inception in 1949, the NATO Alliance has been central to ensuring peace and security on the European continent. It is an alliance not only of shared interests but of shared values. President Trump looks forward to the May 25 NATO Leaders Meeting in Brussels and the opportunity to reaffirm those fundamental and enduring transatlantic values. Montenegro will be there as well, signaling to other NATO aspirants that the door to membership in the Euro-Atlantic community of nations remains open and that countries in the Western Balkans are free to choose their own future and select their own partners without outside interference or intimidation.
The United States will work to further strengthen our already strong relationship with Montenegro and looks forward to formally welcoming the country as the twenty-ninth member of the NATO Alliance. President Trump congratulates the Montenegrin people for their resilience and their demonstrated commitment to NATO’s democratic values.
Stoltenberg was joined by several other NATO officials during the White House visit, including
Ambassador Torgeir Larsen, Director of the Private Office; Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven, Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security; Oana Lungescu, Spokesperson;Dawn Schrepel, Deputy Director of the Private Office; Stein Hernes, Special Advisor on Strategic Communications; and Allison Hart, Executive Office, Public Diplomacy Division.
Stoltenberg laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery before heading to the White House.
Honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of #NATO at #TombOfTheUnknownSoldier at @ArlingtonNatl.
He will be taking part in a town hall event on Thursday at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University before returning to Europe.
