Trump decides Nato is 'no longer obsolete'

US President Donald Trump said during a news conference on Wednesday (12 April) that Nato is "no longer obsolete" – a noted reversal from past comments where he described the long-standing western military alliance as being exactly that.

Trump was speaking during a press conference with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House. However, along with the new remarks, the president reiterated his belief that other Nato member states should pay the agreed 2% of GDP on defence.

Stoltenberg said that Nato is committed to increasing members' defence and talked up the role Nato plays in fighting terrorism around the world and keeping security in Europe.

Trump did not mince his words when it came to Moscow, saying that the US is "not getting along with Russia at all". He added that, though unlikely, it was "certainly possible" that Russia knew in advance about a chemical attack on a rebel-held area of Idlib, which the US says was perpetrated by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Also on Wednesday, Russia vetoed a resolution drafted by the US, UK and France that condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria and demanded investigators be allowed immediate access to the site of the alleged chemical attack.

The comments from Trump echoed remarks made earlier by his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who is currently in Moscow holding talks.

During a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Tillerson said relations between the two countries had reached a "low point" and that there was a mistrust on both sides.