Latest news with #September112001
Rhyl Journal
25-06-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Trump affirms his commitment to Nato's Article 5 pledge for mutual defence
Before landing in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Mr Trump cast doubt on whether the US would abide by Article 5 of the Nato treaty, which calls on all members to defend one another in case of an attack. But on Wednesday, the US president said he stood with that promise. 'That's why I'm here,' Mr Trump said as he met with Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands. 'Why would I be here?' Meanwhile, the alliance on Wednesday enacted one of the Republican president's chief priorities: a pledge by Nato member countries to increase, sometimes significantly, how much they spend on their defence. 'I've been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years,' Mr Trump said earlier on Wednesday as he met with Mark Rutte, the alliance's secretary general. 'I think that's going to be very big news.' The 32 leaders endorsed a final summit statement saying: 'Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations.' Spain had already officially announced that it cannot meet the target, and others have voiced reservations, but the investment pledge includes a review of spending in 2029 to monitor progress and reassess the security threat posed by Russia. The boost in spending follows years of Mr Trump's complaints that other countries were not paying their fair share as part of an alliance created as a bulwark against threats from the former Soviet Union. Most Nato countries, with the key exception of Spain, appeared motivated to bolster their own defences not just by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine but also, perhaps, to placate Mr Trump. 🆕 NATO Allies have agreed to invest 5% of their GDP annually in defence. A substantial commitment in response to significant threats to our security#NATOsummit — NATO (@NATO) June 25, 2025 As a candidate in 2016, Mr Trump suggested that as president he would not necessarily heed the alliance's mutual defence guarantees outlined in Article 5 of the Nato treaty. In March this year, he expressed uncertainty that Nato would come to the United States' defence if needed, though the alliance did just that after the September 11 2001 attacks. On Tuesday, he told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to The Hague for the summit that whether he is committed to Article 5 'depends on your definition'. 'There's numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?' Mr Trump said. 'But I'm committed to being their friends.' He signalled that he would give a more precise definition of what Article 5 means to him once he was at the summit. New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, who travelled to The Hague and met with several foreign leaders at the summit, said other countries raised 'understandable questions' about the US commitment to the alliance, 'certainly given President Trump's past statements'. 'We were very strong and reassuring everyone that we are committed to Nato, we are committed to Article 5, we are committed to maintaining troops on the Eastern flank,' said Ms Shaheen, who represented the US Senate with Democratic senator Chris Coons of Delaware. Mr Trump also vented to reporters before leaving Washington about the actions by Israel and Iran after his announced ceasefire – although on Monday, he said the ceasefire was 'very good'. After Mr Trump arrived in the Netherlands, news outlets, including The Associated Press, reported that a US intelligence report suggested in an early assessment that Iran's nuclear programme had been set back only a few months by weekend strikes and was not 'completely and fully obliterated', as Mr Trump had said. But on Wednesday morning, Mr Trump and other senior cabinet officials vigorously pushed back on the assessment, and defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the administration was launching an investigation into who disclosed those findings to reporters. 'That hit ended the war,' Mr Trump said. Drawing comparisons to the atomic bombings from the US during the Second World War, he added: 'I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war.' The White House has not said which other world leaders Mr Trump would meet with one on one while in The Hague, but the US president said during his meeting with Mr Rutte that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later on Wednesday.
Leader Live
25-06-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Trump affirms his commitment to Nato's Article 5 pledge for mutual defence
Before landing in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Mr Trump cast doubt on whether the US would abide by Article 5 of the Nato treaty, which calls on all members to defend one another in case of an attack. But on Wednesday, the US president said he stood with that promise. 'That's why I'm here,' Mr Trump said as he met with Dick Schoof, the prime minister of the Netherlands. 'Why would I be here?' Meanwhile, the alliance on Wednesday enacted one of the Republican president's chief priorities: a pledge by Nato member countries to increase, sometimes significantly, how much they spend on their defence. 'I've been asking them to go up to 5% for a number of years,' Mr Trump said earlier on Wednesday as he met with Mark Rutte, the alliance's secretary general. 'I think that's going to be very big news.' The 32 leaders endorsed a final summit statement saying: 'Allies commit to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defence requirements as well as defence- and security-related spending by 2035 to ensure our individual and collective obligations.' Spain had already officially announced that it cannot meet the target, and others have voiced reservations, but the investment pledge includes a review of spending in 2029 to monitor progress and reassess the security threat posed by Russia. The boost in spending follows years of Mr Trump's complaints that other countries were not paying their fair share as part of an alliance created as a bulwark against threats from the former Soviet Union. Most Nato countries, with the key exception of Spain, appeared motivated to bolster their own defences not just by Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine but also, perhaps, to placate Mr Trump. 🆕 NATO Allies have agreed to invest 5% of their GDP annually in defence. A substantial commitment in response to significant threats to our security#NATOsummit — NATO (@NATO) June 25, 2025 As a candidate in 2016, Mr Trump suggested that as president he would not necessarily heed the alliance's mutual defence guarantees outlined in Article 5 of the Nato treaty. In March this year, he expressed uncertainty that Nato would come to the United States' defence if needed, though the alliance did just that after the September 11 2001 attacks. On Tuesday, he told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to The Hague for the summit that whether he is committed to Article 5 'depends on your definition'. 'There's numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right?' Mr Trump said. 'But I'm committed to being their friends.' He signalled that he would give a more precise definition of what Article 5 means to him once he was at the summit. New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, who travelled to The Hague and met with several foreign leaders at the summit, said other countries raised 'understandable questions' about the US commitment to the alliance, 'certainly given President Trump's past statements'. 'We were very strong and reassuring everyone that we are committed to Nato, we are committed to Article 5, we are committed to maintaining troops on the Eastern flank,' said Ms Shaheen, who represented the US Senate with Democratic senator Chris Coons of Delaware. Mr Trump also vented to reporters before leaving Washington about the actions by Israel and Iran after his announced ceasefire – although on Monday, he said the ceasefire was 'very good'. After Mr Trump arrived in the Netherlands, news outlets, including The Associated Press, reported that a US intelligence report suggested in an early assessment that Iran's nuclear programme had been set back only a few months by weekend strikes and was not 'completely and fully obliterated', as Mr Trump had said. But on Wednesday morning, Mr Trump and other senior cabinet officials vigorously pushed back on the assessment, and defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the administration was launching an investigation into who disclosed those findings to reporters. 'That hit ended the war,' Mr Trump said. Drawing comparisons to the atomic bombings from the US during the Second World War, he added: 'I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war.' The White House has not said which other world leaders Mr Trump would meet with one on one while in The Hague, but the US president said during his meeting with Mr Rutte that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later on Wednesday.
Leader Live
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Trump meets Syria's former-insurgent-turned-leader in Saudi Arabia
The meeting, on the sidelines of Mr Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the more than 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family. It is also remarkable given that Mr al-Sharaa, under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has ties to al Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. It comes after Mr Trump, long a critic of America's once-called 'forever wars' in the Middle East after the September 11 2001 attacks, offered an anti-interventionist speech before the Saudi public as well. Mr Trump on Tuesday announced the meeting, saying the US would also move to lift economic sanctions on Syria. Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the US as being a state sponsor of terror since 1979. The meeting took place behind closed doors and reporters were not permitted to witness the engagement. The White House did not immediately say who else was in the meeting or provide any other details on the conversation. Mr Trump said he was looking to give Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of brutal civil war, 'a chance at peace' under Mr al-Sharaa. Mr al-Sharaa was named interim president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by Mr al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that stormed Damascus, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family. The United States has been weighing how to handle Mr al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Many Gulf Arab leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and want Mr Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Bashar Assad's government during a decade-long civil war. But longtime US ally Israel has been deeply sceptical of Mr al-Sharaa's extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government. However, Mr Trump cited the intervention of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as key to his decision. The White House earlier signalled that the Trump and al-Sharaa engagement, on the sidelines of a Gulf Co-operation Council meeting in Riyadh convened as part of Mr Trump's four-day visit to the region, would be brief, with the administration saying the US president had 'agreed to say hello' to the Syrian president on Wednesday. Mr al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Syrians cheered the announcement by Mr Trump that the US will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation. The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians cheering in Umayyad Square, the largest in the country's capital Damascus. Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration. People whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky. A statement from Syria's Foreign Ministry issued on Tuesday night called the announcement 'a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war'. The statement was also careful to describe the sanctions as coming 'in response to the war crimes committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people', rather than the war-torn nation's new interim government. 'The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to pursue stability, self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction, led by and for the Syrian people,' the statement added.
South Wales Guardian
14-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Trump meets Syria's former-insurgent-turned-leader in Saudi Arabia
The meeting, on the sidelines of Mr Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the more than 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family. It is also remarkable given that Mr al-Sharaa, under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has ties to al Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. It comes after Mr Trump, long a critic of America's once-called 'forever wars' in the Middle East after the September 11 2001 attacks, offered an anti-interventionist speech before the Saudi public as well. Mr Trump on Tuesday announced the meeting, saying the US would also move to lift economic sanctions on Syria. Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the US as being a state sponsor of terror since 1979. The meeting took place behind closed doors and reporters were not permitted to witness the engagement. The White House did not immediately say who else was in the meeting or provide any other details on the conversation. Mr Trump said he was looking to give Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of brutal civil war, 'a chance at peace' under Mr al-Sharaa. Mr al-Sharaa was named interim president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by Mr al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that stormed Damascus, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family. The United States has been weighing how to handle Mr al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Many Gulf Arab leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and want Mr Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Bashar Assad's government during a decade-long civil war. But longtime US ally Israel has been deeply sceptical of Mr al-Sharaa's extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government. However, Mr Trump cited the intervention of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as key to his decision. The White House earlier signalled that the Trump and al-Sharaa engagement, on the sidelines of a Gulf Co-operation Council meeting in Riyadh convened as part of Mr Trump's four-day visit to the region, would be brief, with the administration saying the US president had 'agreed to say hello' to the Syrian president on Wednesday. Mr al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Syrians cheered the announcement by Mr Trump that the US will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation. The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians cheering in Umayyad Square, the largest in the country's capital Damascus. Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration. People whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky. A statement from Syria's Foreign Ministry issued on Tuesday night called the announcement 'a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war'. The statement was also careful to describe the sanctions as coming 'in response to the war crimes committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people', rather than the war-torn nation's new interim government. 'The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to pursue stability, self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction, led by and for the Syrian people,' the statement added.
South Wales Argus
14-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Trump meets Syria's former-insurgent-turned-leader in Saudi Arabia
The meeting, on the sidelines of Mr Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the more than 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family. It is also remarkable given that Mr al-Sharaa, under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has ties to al Qaida and joined insurgents battling US forces in Iraq before entering the Syrian war. Syrians in Homs celebrate after US President Donald Trump announced plans during his visit to Saudi Arabia to ease sanctions on Syria and normalise relations with its new government (Omar Albam/AP) It comes after Mr Trump, long a critic of America's once-called 'forever wars' in the Middle East after the September 11 2001 attacks, offered an anti-interventionist speech before the Saudi public as well. Mr Trump on Tuesday announced the meeting, saying the US would also move to lift economic sanctions on Syria. Even before its ruinous civil war that began in 2011, Syria struggled under a tightly controlled socialist economy and under sanctions by the US as being a state sponsor of terror since 1979. The meeting took place behind closed doors and reporters were not permitted to witness the engagement. The White House did not immediately say who else was in the meeting or provide any other details on the conversation. Mr Trump said he was looking to give Syria, which is emerging from more than a decade of brutal civil war, 'a chance at peace' under Mr al-Sharaa. Mr al-Sharaa was named interim president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by Mr al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) that stormed Damascus, ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family. The United States has been weighing how to handle Mr al-Sharaa since he took power in December. President Donald Trump looks on as he leaves the Royal Palace after a signing ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Alex Brandon/AP) Many Gulf Arab leaders have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and want Mr Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Bashar Assad's government during a decade-long civil war. But longtime US ally Israel has been deeply sceptical of Mr al-Sharaa's extremist past and cautioned against swift recognition of the new government. However, Mr Trump cited the intervention of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as key to his decision. The White House earlier signalled that the Trump and al-Sharaa engagement, on the sidelines of a Gulf Co-operation Council meeting in Riyadh convened as part of Mr Trump's four-day visit to the region, would be brief, with the administration saying the US president had 'agreed to say hello' to the Syrian president on Wednesday. Mr al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Syrians cheered the announcement by Mr Trump that the US will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation. The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians cheering in Umayyad Square, the largest in the country's capital Damascus. Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration. Syrians in Homs celebrate after US President Donald Trump announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria and normalise relations with its new government (Omar Albam/AP) People whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky. A statement from Syria's Foreign Ministry issued on Tuesday night called the announcement 'a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as we seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war'. The statement was also careful to describe the sanctions as coming 'in response to the war crimes committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people', rather than the war-torn nation's new interim government. 'The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to pursue stability, self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction, led by and for the Syrian people,' the statement added.
