NATO to invite Gulf countries to upcoming summit, Bloomberg says
Photo: NATO summit (Getty Images)
NATO will invite four Gulf countries to the summit in Ankara. The key topics will be the conflict with Iran and internal tensions within the Alliance, Bloomberg reports.
Foreign ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be invited to the summit scheduled for July 7-8 in the Turkish capital.
These countries are members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, a partnership between NATO and Middle Eastern nations that are not part of the Alliance.
The meeting comes amid rising transatlantic tensions over the war with Iran after US President Donald Trump criticized NATO allies for failing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He later announced the withdrawal of around 5,000 US troops from Germany.
For the second year in a row, NATO leaders are planning to hold the summit in a highly simplified and shortened format. This approach was introduced to meet the demands of President Donald Trump.
Reduction of the US presence in Europe
Donald Trump previously confirmed plans to reduce the American military presence in Germany. According to him, more than 5,000 US troops could be redeployed from the EU.
According to Politico, some Pentagon officials were shocked by the decision, since no troop withdrawal from Germany had previously been planned.
At the same time, the US Defense Department confirmed Trump’s intentions, while a senior official told The New York Times that the move was effectively "punishment for Germany" over its stance on the war with Iran.
Against this backdrop, Poland said it is ready to host additional US troops if they are relocated from Western Europe.
