 Despite rows, EU-US defence ties still strong: NATO chief London (AFP) June 21, 2018 - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday acknowledged "real" disagreements between Europe and the United States but insisted the trans-Atlantic bond on defence and security remained strong. "These disagreements are real. It is not written in stone that the transatlantic bond will survive forever. But I believe we will preserve it," Stoltenberg said in a speech in London. He noted different views between European nations and US President Donald Trump on the Iran nuclear deal, the environment and trade, which exploded at an acrimonious G7 meeting earlier this month. But he said he was "absolutely confident" that the US-led military alliance would be able to demonstrate its unity at a summit in July, promising "more cash and capabilities". "There are many different ties that bind Europe and North America together. We may have seen the weakening of some of them lately," he said. "But our ties on defence have grown stronger. Since coming to office, the Trump administration has increased funding for the US presence in Europe by 40 percent." At next month's NATO summit in Brussels, Stoltenberg said he expected Trump to press the case for increased European spending on defence, which he said was rising. "I expect the president to be very strong on defence spending, I thanked him for his leadership on defence because it has had an impact," he added. Asked about media reports that Trump would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Europe, he said it would not "in any way" contradict NATO policy. "We don't want a new Cold War, we don't want a new arms race, we want to talk to Russia, Russia is there to stay," Stoltenberg said. "We strive for a better relationship with Russia, and even if a better relationship is not possible, we need to talk to them to manage a difficult relationship," he added. The secretary general met British Prime Minister Theresa May, and he welcomed Britain's "leadership" role in NATO. He said he expected his hosts to "continue and to maintain that role" through further defence spending. Following the meeting, May vowed that Britain "will continue to lead by example in NATO, meeting the two percent target on defence spending." She also thanked NATO allies for their support during the diplomatic fallout from the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in the English town of Salisbury, calling the response a "powerful demonstration of the value of the alliance". Stoltenberg said the incident proved that "NATO can rely on UK and the UK can rely on NATO. "It had strength and support of 28 allies behind it; when NATO is needed most, allies stand together," he added.
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The United States will continue to show its commitment to NATO, a senior US Army commander said Thursday as a fresh batch of military helicopters arrived in Europe's largest port to bolster ongoing operations.
Rotterdam harbour on Wednesday saw the offloading of some 60 US Army Black Hawk and Chinook troop transport helicopters, belonging to the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade based out of Fort Carson in Colorado.
The brigade is starting a nine-month rotation to Europe as part of "Operation Atlantic Resolve" which since April 2014 has seen additional US troop and NATO deployments to the continent, aimed at reassuring eastern allies and after Russian actions in Ukraine.
More than 6,000 US troops are currently deployed in NATO members Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
"The message is to 27 countries within NATO here in Europe that we're here, we can be relied on, we're friends within that alliance," Colonel Geoff De Tingo told AFP as the helicopters readied for deployment.
"We are practising coming to Europe, faster and faster. We need to come be able to come to the aid of our Dutch allies and NATO faster... in response to anything you would need help with," said De Tingo, chief of staff of the 21st Theatre Sustainment Command, responsible for the move.
US maintenance staff Thursday put together the helicopters at a heavily-guarded shed in the massive Rotterdam port, from where they flew to a Dutch military base near Eindhoven and then to Germany.
The helicopters will eventually be deployed to eastern NATO countries, De Tingo said, adding that a consignment of Apache attack helicopters was also due within the next few weeks.
Last month some 3,000 soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division -- the ground contingent of Atlantic Resolve -- arrived in Europe, US military reports said.
The deployments to the region were ordered during the previous administration of president Barack Obama.
The Pentagon's "Atlantic Resolve" operation is aimed at countering security concerns triggered on NATO's eastern flank by Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
But rhetoric by US President Donald Trump, who called NATO "obsolete" and has demanded that allies pay their share in the alliance, deeply rattled its easternmost members bordering Russia.
Trump has since reversed much of his criticism and made good on US troop commitments for the unprecedented NATO deployments across its eastern flank.
The military rotation -- the third since the start of operations -- also comes ahead of a planned NATO summit in Brussels next month which Trump is expected to attend.
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