Leaders of the alliance are set to discuss their collective readiness, as well as the future of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan and combating terrorism.
Trump is also set to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the meeting.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is defending her country’s independence following comments from President Donald Trump suggesting that Berlin was operating under Russian influence.
Heading into a NATO meeting in Brussels, Merkel noted that she had grown up in communist East Germany.
Without mentioning Trump’s comments specifically, she told reporters Wednesday: “I’ve experienced myself a part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union and I’m very happy today that we are united in freedom as the Federal Republic of Germany and can thus say that we can determine our own policies and make our own decisions and that’s very good.”
Earlier, Trump had suggested that because of a new pipeline deal to bring more Russian gas to Germany, “Germany as far as I’m concerned is captive to Russia.”
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