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In an interview with FRANCE 24, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the forthcoming NATO summit in Brussels July 11-12 would not be divisive like the recent G7 summit in Canada, despite "differences" between the US and its allies on issues such as trade. "When it comes to defence and security, the transatlantic bond is not weakened, but strengthened," he said. Stoltenberg added that President Donald Trump had recently "reconfirmed his strong personal commitment to NATO".
The NATO secretary-general said that Donald Trump's demands that European countries pay more for their defence were being met, although he acknowledged there was still room for improvement. "More allies now spend 2 percent of GDP of defence," he told FRANCE 24.
Turning to Russia, Stoltenberg said "we have seen that Russia tries to divide us" and expressed concern over Moscow increasingly investing in nuclear weapons in recent years. He stressed, however, that NATO’s recent moves to deter Moscow by deploying troops and weapons to Eastern Europe were not aimed at starting a new war. "The reason to do so is to prevent conflict, not to provoke conflict," he said.
Stoltenberg expressed hope that the recent agreement between Greece and Macedonia on calling the former Yugoslav republic the "Republic of North Macedonia" would pave the way for that country joining NATO.
Finally, he said claims by Italy’s new government that it was "under attack" from illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean did not warrant NATO’s intervention in the name of collective defence. However, he added, "NATO has a role to play in dealing with the migrant and refugee crisis," which includes "addressing the core reasons" for the crisis, "helping to implement the deal between Turkey and the EU in the Aegean Sea" and "providing support to Operation Sophia, the EU naval presence in the Mediterranean".
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