Trump reaffirms NATO commitment during talks with EU leaders

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to NATO and recognised that it must be capable of confronting 21st century threats during talks with leaders from EU's traditional power couple France and Germany.

During a call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday, the first between the two leaders after Trump occupied the White House, they held an extensive conversation covering a range of issues, including NATO, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, relations with Russia, and the Ukraine crisis.

"Both leaders affirmed the importance of close German- American cooperation to our countries' security and prosperity and expressed their desire to deepen already close German- American relations in the coming years," the White House said.

They agreed on the NATO Alliance's fundamental importance to the broader transatlantic relationship and its role in ensuring the peace and stability of the North Atlantic community, it said.

"In this vein, the leaders recognised that NATO must be capable of confronting 21st century threats and that our common defence requires appropriate investment in military capabilities to ensure all Allies are contributing their fair share to our collective security," the White House said.

The leaders agreed on the need to strengthen already robust cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, and to work to stabilise conflict areas in the Middle East and North Africa, it said.

Trump accepted the Chancellor's invitation to attend the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July, and said he looked forward to receiving the Chancellor in Washington soon.

In a phone call with his French counterpart Francois Hollande same day, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to NATO.

"President Trump reaffirmed the US commitment to NATO and noted the importance of all NATO Allies sharing the burden on defence spending," the White House said after the phone call.

"The leaders discussed our military and defence cooperation both bilaterally and through NATO," the White House said, adding that during the call, the Trump expressed his desire to strengthen US-French cooperation on a range of issues, especially on counter-terrorism and security.

"The leaders also lauded our combined efforts to eliminate ISIS in Iraq and Syria," the White House said.

"Trump expressed his condolences for the loss of life in terrorist attacks in France over the past two years. The two leaders agreed to continue close coordination between Washington and Paris on issues of mutual concern," it said.