U.S. President Donald Trump is at last publicly confirming his commitment to NATO’s mutual defense pact.
When Trump spoke at the alliance’s gathering in Belgium last month, he did not make reference to the agreement, which is known as Article 5.
But on Friday he said was “committing the United States to Article 5.”
Trump’s omission in Brussels raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. White House aides said that the president’s support was implied even though he deliberately did not utter the words.
The only time that Article 5 was invoked was after the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001. Trump was asked if he would move the U.S. to defend NATO if Russia attacked; he did not answer that part of the question.
*More to come