NATO Unaware of US President-Elect Future Policy Toward Alliance

© AP Photo / Virginia MayoNATO and US flags wave in the wind outside NATO headquarters in Brussels. (File)
NATO and US flags wave in the wind outside NATO headquarters in Brussels. (File) - Sputnik International
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Nobody could say definitely whether there would be any changes in NATO policy after Donald Trump takes office, according to an European diplomatic source close to the alliance.

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BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — NATO member states have no idea about what kind of transatlantic security policy the new US administration would pursue, an European diplomatic source close to the alliance told RIA Novosti on Monday.

"The only thing that brings NATO 'close' to Russia now is that they both do not know what kind of policy Trump would pursue," the source said.

The source added that nobody could say definitely whether there would be any changes in NATO policy after Trump takes office.

Earlier in the day, the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) meeting at the level of permanent representatives to the alliance, the third such meeting this year, started in Brussels. The agenda of the council comprises the issues of European security, the situation in Ukraine and others.

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The council was created in 2002 as a consultative mechanism. On April 1, 2014, NATO decided to suspend cooperation with Russia over the Ukrainian crisis. The first NRC meeting since the bilateral relations' deterioration at the level of permanent envoys, took place in April 2016 but failed to yield any significant results due to the sides’ disagreement on a number of geopolitical issues. One more meeting of the Council, at the ambassadorial level, was held in the Belgian capital of Brussels on July 13.

Donald Trump, who beat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 presidential elections, has repeatedly noted during his public speeches and interviews that "it would be nice" to have a good relationship with Russia. He also has repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that Washington should review its relationships with NATO allies which do not contribute enough to the alliance.

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