Stoltenberg says he is 'ready to meet with President Putin'
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says he is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Stoltenberg made the comments in an interview with the DPA news agency published Monday.
"If the context is right, I am, of course, also ready to meet with President Putin," he said.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been struggling with myriad conflicts among its members, including US President Donald Trump’s pressure on European allies to pay more for the alliance.
The US president has also softened the anti-Russia stance formerly adopted by NATO.
"Russia is our biggest neighbor, Russia is here to stay, and we need to strive for a better relationship with Russia," Stoltenberg said. "But even without an improved relationship with Russia, we need to manage a difficult relationship with Russia."
The Russia friendly stance promoted by Stoltenberg has been a source of concerns for some smaller member states particularly those neighboring Russia.
Trump was mocked by some world leaders speaking on a hot mic in the latest NATO summit in London.
....When today’s meetings are over, I will be heading back to Washington. We won’t be doing a press conference at the close of NATO because we did so many over the past two days. Safe travels to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2019
That made the president cancel his scheduled press conference and head back to the US.
Trump has been a fierce NATO critic, mostly accusing other military alliance members of not paying their “fair share.”
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