NATO has agreed to US President Donald Trump's calls to get "much more involved" in the Middle East made during the latter's Wednesday address following Iranian airstrikes on US military facilities in Iraq, APA reportsm citing Sputnik.
The following phone conversation between the US president and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg featuring discussions on "developments in the Middle East", showed that the alliance admitted that it could play a larger role in contributing to "stability" in the region, The Hill reported while quoting a readout of the conversation.
"The President asked the Secretary General for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East. They agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism", reads the statement following the call.
The phone call was confirmed by White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere on his Twitter account.
Trump's appeal to the alliance comes after his earlier criticism of NATO members' failure to meet the 2% of GDP defence budget spending target and French President Emmanuel Macron's comments that the security organisation was currently experiencing "brain death", a statement that was widely criticised.
Note that addressing the nation following Iranian missile strikes on American military facilities in Iraq on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that he would announce new sanctions against Tehran and would ask NATO to boost its involvement in the Middle East.
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