President Obama will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House next week to talk NATO’s involvement in battling terrorism and the refugee crisis in Europe.
{mosads}”The president looks forward to discussing with Secretary General Stoltenberg the progress allies are making in the international effort to degrade and destroy ISIL, as well as the important role NATO is playing in alleviating the refugee and migrant crisis spurred in part by the terrorist group,” the White House said in a statement.
The president and Stoltenberg, meeting on April 4, will also discuss the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, where NATO holds its headquarters.
“The President will reiterate that the United States stands together with NATO in the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks that struck Brussels,” the release reads.
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been harshly criticizing NATO lately and called it ‘obsolete’ and ineffective in fighting terrorism in a New York Times interview published Sunday.
Obama and Stoltenberg will also look ahead to July, when the annual NATO Summit will take place in Warsaw.
The private meeting will follow next week’s nuclear summit in Washington, which runs from March 31 to April 1 and will bring together more than 50 countries.