Trump Affirms Commitment to Asian Affairs in Phone Call With New Zealand's PM

US President Donald Trump and New Zealand's Prime Minister Bill English discussed in a phone call on Sunday regional issues and challenges, the White House said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The readout said that Trump expressed "appreciation for New Zealand's significant contributions to international peace and security concerns," and added that the leaders "affirmed the close friendship and bilateral alliance" between the countries.

"The two leaders discussed regional issues, including challenges to regional peace and security, and the President affirmed to the Prime Minister the US commitment to strong and active engagement in Asia," the readout of the talk released by the White House said.

In January, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the country from the TPP trade deal, which encompassed the United States and 11 Pacific-Rim states and took years to negotiate, saying the deal was undermining the job market in his country.

New Zealand's minister said that Wellington would prefer "to have the US in TPP."

Also on Sunday, Trump in a phone call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed Washington’s support to the alliance and discussed way of settling the Ukrainian crisis.