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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is refusing to say whether President Donald Trump wants to quit the military organization. Trump's threat to leave this time comes over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which NATO is not a party to and was not consulted about. Trump has criticized NATO allies as "cowards." He complains that NATO ignored his call for help when Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz. Rutte has won acclaim as a "Trump whisperer," but he's struggling to keep Trump engaged in NATO. He's been praising Trump for successes in the war, and for boosting defense spending. At the same time, Rutte insists NATO will not join the war.
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is embracing the support of international allies even as he pushed for the help to arrive faster and restrictions to be lifted on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia. On Thursday, he thanked allies in the military alliance who have provided substantial new aid and a path to joining NATO. But Zelenskyy added that if Ukraine wants to prevail, all limitations on weapons must be lifted. Earlier in a one-on-one meeting, President Joe Biden announced a new military aid package for Ukraine and pledged to Zelenskyy: "We will stay with you, period."
By BELA SZANDELSZKY and KAREL JANICEK Associated Press
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe. Doctors were still fighting for his life several hours after the 59-year-old pro-Russian leader was hit. That's according to Defense Minister Robert Kalina, who spoke to reporters at the hospital where Fico was being treated. He said an operation on Fico was not yet complete. The government said five shots were fired outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, nearly 85 miles northeast of the capital, where Fico was meeting with supporters.
Russia's war on Ukraine will top the agenda when U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts meet on Tuesday and Wednesday. The focus will be what to do about Ukraine's future membership of NATO, and the security guarantees the country might need to ensure that Russia doesn't invade again after the war is over. The leaders are set to endorse new defense plans should President Vladimir Putin try to broaden Russia's war beyond Ukraine and westward into allied territory. Sweden's accession is up for discussion too, as Turkey delays the Nordic country's entry into the world's biggest security organization. The leaders will also set a new, higher target for defense spending.
