US President Barack Obama says his successor, billionaire Donald Trump, is committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and that is a message the commander-in-chief will have for Washington’s allies.
Obama made the remarks in the first press conference after his party’s nominee, Hillary Clinton, lost the 2016 race for the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday.
His comments ran counter to Trump’s stance on NATO while campaigning in the run-up to the November 8 election.
Trump has said that as president he would “certainly look at” pulling the US out of the international security alliance, because it is “obsolete” and “is costing us a fortune.”
The reality TV star's view of the world's most durable alliance has caused panic among some NATO members in the face of what the West considers as the “Russian aggression.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that “Our Armed Forces are not threatening anybody.”
Putin questioned claims that Russia might attack other countries, especially its neighbors in the Baltics, asking during a Saturday speech in the city of Yaroslavl, “Why would we do this?”