Washington, Apr 8 (EFE).- United States President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte met on Wednesday at the White House amid controversy over Trump’s statements about a possible exit from the alliance.
Rutte’s White House meeting on Wednesday lasted around two hours. However, neither party has released details of the meeting yet.
Before the encounter, the White House confirmed that Trump would discuss the US’s potential withdrawal from NATO.
The meeting follows Trump’s recent criticism of several NATO partners for closing their airspace and preventing US operatives from using their bases to attack Iran.
Trump has also criticized these partners for not wanting to send military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz to secure traffic in the maritime passage.
The US head of state has even called NATO members «cowards,» labeled the alliance a «paper tiger,» and threatened US withdrawal on more than one occasion.
The meeting with Rutte also took place a day after Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, implying the reopening of the aforementioned strait, through which a significant amount of globally exported hydrocarbons pass. EFE
asb/dgp/mcd
![(FILE). A young garimperio (artisanal miner) shows a little clod of gold as he stands in the pit in which he works in a mine in Manica Province, Mozambique. Oct. 08, 2018 (issued Oct. 12, 2018). EPA/YESHIEL PANCHIA ATTENTION: This Image is part of a PHOTO SET[ATTENTION: This Image is part of a PHOTO SET]](https://i0.wp.com/efe.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/rss-efe7529e321350dd6129975feffadb079d23bbd809bw.webp?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1)