President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday presented a united front over a ceasefire plan in Ukraine, but it was clear trans-Atlantic differences remain unresolved.
The meeting came just over a week after Trump’s pick for his ambassador to NATO told senators that the U.S. commitment to the alliance was “ironclad,” though some Democrats have expressed concerns about a potential shift in U.S. policy away from the longtime military compact.
As have other world leaders, Rutte sat beside Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday and tried a little flattery, saying he wanted to “commend” the U.S. president over his attempts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and crediting Trump with “breaking a deadlock.”
