Pence reassures allies Trump will not abandon EU, NATOFebruary 20, 2017 - 14:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence meets EU and NATO leaders Monday at the end of a European trip aimed at reassuring allies worried that President Donald Trump might abandon them, AFP says. Upon arrival in Brussels on Sunday, February 19, Pence said he looked "very much forward" to his meetings with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Brussels follows a visit to the Munich Security Conference, where Pence told European leaders and defence experts: "The United States is and will always be your greatest ally. "President Trump and our people are truly devoted to our transatlantic union." Trump's criticism of NATO as "obsolete", his praise for Britain's decision to leave the European Union, and his apparent tilt to Russian President Vladimir Putin have unnerved US allies. And they continue to seek reassurance from Washington even though Pence, US Defence Secretary James Mattis and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hewed close to seven decades of transatlantic policy during their foray into Europe. Pence said Washington would push Russia to honour the Minsk ceasefire accords in Ukraine and Tillerson said the US would only cooperate with Moscow if it benefits the American people. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said he was "struck" that Pence had never mentioned the EU, which raised doubts after Trump welcomed Brexit and appeared to hope other EU states will follow suit. Mogherini has said Pence's visit is "a very important political sign," though she suggested EU-US relations may become more pragmatic and less automatic than before. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakh Foreign Minister arrives in Armenia Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu on Monday, March 18 arrived in Armenia for a two-day trip. Aliyev touts “good chances” for normalizing ties with Armenia Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has declared that there are “good chances” for normalizing relations with Armenia. Top Armenian, Indian defense officials discuss cooperation The discussions primarily focused on enhancing cooperation in the defence sector between Armenia and India. IDBank unveils three sad stories about fraudsters IDBank has unveiled three scenarios of card fraud that have been happening more and more often in Armenia. |