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The trip to NATO headquarters is expected to be the Secretary of State’s last trip as a senior diplomat to outgoing President Donald Trump.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Brussels this week for meetings with NATO officials, the State Department said, on what is expected to be his last trip as the outgoing president’s top diplomat Donald Trump.
During his trip, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, Pompeo will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès, the State Department said.
The visit follows the assault on the U.S. Capitol last week in which thousands of Trump supporters stormed the building, forcing members of Congress who were certifying Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory to to hide. Five people died, including a police officer and a Trump supporter who was shot and killed.
Stoltenberg called the scenes in Washington “shocking” and called for respect for the election result.
Many other world leaders, including those of key US allies such as the UK, have also expressed shock at the attack on the core of American democracy.
“Secretary Pompeo will underline the enduring importance of the transatlantic partnership, defend NATO’s continued success in safeguarding the transatlantic community and adapting to new security challenges, and reaffirm the strength of bilateral relations between the United States. and Belgium, ”the State Department said in a statement.
Trump had a fragile relationship with NATO, accusing his European allies of being “delinquent” in their support for the Western military alliance.
Presidential ambition
Pompeo, who is believed to have presidential ambitions for 2024, stepped up his work as a top U.S. diplomat before his term ends on January 20.
On Monday, he called on the state-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) to promote “American exceptionalism,” dismissing complaints it was trying to turn the government-funded broadcaster into a propaganda channel.
Pompeo delivered a live speech at VOA headquarters, where the Trump administration rocked management after saying the taxpayer-funded outlet should promote its policies.
Pompeo claimed that until Trump became president, VOA broadcasts “became less intended to tell the truth about America and too often to debase America.
As Pompeo and Trump carry out their destructive agenda in the final days of this presidency, who are they coordinating with? Who manages to keep to their schedules? Who is going to Washington? https://t.co/FdYSqPx4tb
– Trita Parsi (@tparsi) January 12, 2021
“We want to depoliticize what’s going on here. It is too important for the American people and for the world – to return this organization to its charter and its responsibility to spread the message of freedom, democracy and American exceptionalism, ”Pompeo said.
Despite his call against politicization, he drew a parallel with Trump’s complaints about his withdrawal from Facebook and Twitter. Social media platforms claim that the outgoing president incited violence on the U.S. Capitol to reverse his electoral defeat.
“It all goes in one direction – authoritarianism disguised as moral justice,” Pompeo said.
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