Nato head and Trump meet in Florida for talks on global security

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump and the head of Nato have met for talks on global security, the military alliance said.

In a brief statement, Nato said Mr Trump and its secretary general, Mark Rutte, met on Friday in Palm Beach, Florida.

Michael Waltz (J Scott Applewhite/AP)

“They discussed the range of global security issues facing the Alliance,” the statement said without giving details.

It appeared to be Mr Rutte’s first meeting with Mr Trump since his November 5 election.

Mr Rutte had previously congratulated Mr Trump and said “his leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong” and that he looked forward to working with him.

Mr Trump has for years expressed scepticism about the Western alliance and complained about the defence spending of many of its member nations, which he regarded as too low.

He depicted Nato allies as leeches on the US military and openly questioned the value of the alliance that has defined American foreign policy for decades.

He threatened not to defend Nato members that fail to meet defence-spending goals.

Mr Rutte and his team also met Mr Trump’s pick as national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and other members of the president-elect’s national security team, the Nato statement said.

Mr Rutte took over at the helm of Nato in October.