US President Donald Trump has not yet decided how to respond to the refusal of some allies to allow the US military to use their bases, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said today, quoted by world agencies, BTA reports.
“If one of the main reasons for the US to be part of NATO is to be able to deploy forces in Europe that we could then redeploy in other emergencies, and if that is no longer the case - at least as far as some NATO members are concerned - then that is a problem and that problem needs to be solved“, Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome, adding that Trump “has not yet taken such “.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke for an hour and a half with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome earlier in the day, ANSA reported.
He previously discussed bilateral relations and key issues on the world agenda with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Rubio's meeting with Meloni began with a kiss and a handshake. The two then posed for photographers before retiring for talks. The meeting was also attended by US Ambassador to Rome Tilman Fertitta.
After the meeting with Meloni, Rubio said that he had not discussed with her the issue of US bases on Italian territory.
US President Donald Trump recently hinted that he might withdraw US troops from bases in Italy, since Italy did not help the US in the war in Iran.
After the meeting with Meloni, Rubio said that he was a strong supporter of NATO, but that "some European countries like Spain have denied the US the use of their bases for a very serious emergency and this has created some unnecessary danger for the US, which has been engaged in an offensive against Iran".
Last week, Meloni said that she did not agree with Trump's threats to withdraw US troops based in NATO allies, including Italy, Germany and Spain.
In the past month, Trump has criticized Meloni and Italy several times after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIII against Trump's criticism.
During Rubio's meeting with Meloni, he assured her of America's commitment to close cooperation on shared priorities, ANSA reported, citing a State Department statement. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen the strong strategic partnership between the United States and Italy, the statement added.
“Regional security challenges, including those related to the Middle East and Ukraine, and the importance of continued transatlantic cooperation to address global threats were also discussed at the meeting,“ the State Department said in a statement.