McConnell Statement on Rutte, Trump Meeting

LOUISVILLE, KY - U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released the following statement prior to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's meeting with President Trump:

"The President's meeting with NATO Secretary General Rutte comes at a consequential moment in America's alliance relationships. Close consultation with allies doesn't constrain our action to secure our interests; it enhances it.

"By every relevant measure, the trans-Atlantic alliance is the most successful military alliance in world history. Through decades of Cold War, despite numerous disputes among allies, NATO consistently deterred Soviet aggression and served America's national interests. Following the September 11th attacks, NATO allies sent their young servicemembers to fight and die alongside America's own in Afghanistan and Iraq. And for decades, access, basing, and overflight across the continent have helped America maintain forward presence and secure global interests from the High North to the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific.

"Our adversaries' close coordination to undermine these interests is on display in war with Iran. Quite simply, America will not succeed in strategic competition with the PRC and its axis partners in Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang if we spend more time nursing grudges with allies who share our interests than deterring adversaries who threaten us.

"The Administration has secured remarkable progress toward greater burden sharing across NATO. Today, many European allies spend more on defense as a percentage of GDP than does the United States. And together, they provide vastly more assistance to Ukraine than does Washington. But with respect to the President's frustration that NATO allies are not more engaged in the Middle East, he has been badly served by senior officials' open hostility to European allies and year-long admonishments to Europe to focus exclusively on its affairs at home.

"The President's engagement with the Secretary General, and our signals to allied leaders, must be clear and consistent. NATO allies do have a stake in the future stability of the Middle East, just as they have a stake in a free and open Indo-Pacific. I am hopeful Secretary General Rutte's visit will help to advance our collective interests globally.

"Just as the threats we face today are linked across regions and combatant commands, the value of America's alliance commitments is a global resource. How we talk about our NATO allies in public, and how we consult them in private, affects the strength of our other alliances and partnerships across the world. European allies are carrying more of the burden of collective defense. If we remain with them, they will be with us. But clarity and consistency must be the order of the day on both sides of the Atlantic."

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