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EUROPE
TrumpSaysItsLikelyRussiaKnewof
SyrianGasAttackinAdvance
ByJULIEHIRSCHFELDDAVISandPETERBAKER APRIL12,2017
WASHINGTONPresidentTrumpsaidonWednesdaythatRussialikelyknew
oftheSyriangovernmentsplantogasitsownpeopleinadvanceofachemical
weaponsattacklastweekinnorthwesternSyria,assertingthatUnitedStates
relationswithMoscowwereatanalltimelow.
AskedwhetheritwaspossiblethatSyrianforcescouldhavelaunchedthe
chemicalattackwithoutRussiasknowledge,Mr.Trumpsaid:Itscertainly
possibleIthinkitsprobablyunlikely.
Iwouldliketothinkthattheydidntknow,butcertainlytheycouldhave.
Theywerethere,Mr.TrumpsaidoftheRussiansduringanewsconferenceat
theWhiteHousewithJensStoltenberg,thesecretarygeneralofNATO.
Theremarksamountedtoanexplosivesuggestionatatimeofheightened
tensionbetweentheUnitedStatesandRussiaafterthechemicalattack,which
wasfollowedbyAmericanmissilestrikesontheairfieldinSyriafromwhichit
waslaunched.
EvenastheyhaveintensifiedtheircriticismofRussiaforbackingPresident
BasharalAssadofSyria,otherseniorTrumpadministrationofficials,including
JimMattis,thesecretaryofdefense,andRexW.Tillerson,thesecretaryofstate,
havebeencarefultosaythereisnoevidenceprovingthatMoscowhad
foreknowledgetheAssadregimeplannedtolaunchasaringasassault.
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12/4/2017 TrumpSaysItsLikelyRussiaKnewofSyrianGasAttackinAdvanceTheNewYorkTimes
Rightnow,werenotgettingalongwithRussiaatallwemaybeatanall
timelowintermsofrelationshipwithRussia,Mr.TrumpsaidonWednesday.
Thishasbuiltforalongperiodoftime,butweregoingtoseewhathappens.
TheremarkswerethelatestevidenceofMr.TrumpsturnaboutonPresident
VladimirV.PutinofRussia,aleaderhepraisedduringthepresidentialcampaign
buthasnowmovedtoisolatesincetheSyrianchemicalweaponsattack.
Mr.TrumpalsomadeastarkreversalonNATO,whichhederidedas
obsoleteduringhisbidfortheWhiteHouse,butsaidWednesdayhad
transformedintoaneffectivealliancesincehetookoffice.
Isaiditwasobsoleteitsnolongerobsolete,Mr.Trumpsaidduringthe
30minuteappearancewithMr.Stoltenberg.HecalledNATOagreatalliance
andthebulwarkofinternationalpeaceandsecurity.
Mr.Trumpattributedhischangeofhearttounspecifiedtransformations
withinNATOthathesaidwereadirectresponsetocriticismhehadleveledthat
thealliancewasnotdoingenoughtocombatterrorism.
Icomplainedalongtimeaboutthat,Mr.Trumpsaid,andtheychanged.
ItwasnotclearwhatthepresidentwasreferringtoNATOforceshavebeen
fightingalongsidetheUnitedStatesinAfghanistanformorethanadecade,an
effortfocusedoncombatingterroristgroupsincludingtheTaliban.
HiscommentscamehoursafteraseniorWhiteHouseofficialsaidtheTrump
administrationhadsupportedtheadmissionofMontenegrointoNATOinpartto
countertheinfluenceofRussiainthesmallBalkannation.Speakingonthe
conditionofanonymity,theofficialcitedcrediblereportsthatMoscowbackeda
plotforaviolentElectionDayattacktherelastfall.
Mr.TrumponTuesdaysignedthepaperworkallowingMontenegrotoenter
NATO,twoweeksaftertheSenateapprovedthemoveinaMarch28vote.Its
admission,WhiteHouseofficialssaidinastatement,shouldsignaltoother
nationsaspiringtojointhealliancethatthedoortomembershipintheEuro
AtlanticcommunityofnationsremainsopenandthatcountriesintheWestern
Balkansarefreetochoosetheirownfutureandselecttheirownpartnerswithout
outsideinterferenceorintimidation.
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12/4/2017 TrumpSaysItsLikelyRussiaKnewofSyrianGasAttackinAdvanceTheNewYorkTimes
ButtheofficialsaidRussiasmeddlinginMontenegroandUkraine,aswellas
itsactionsinSyria,wouldbeastrongthemeinMr.TrumpsNATOdiscussions,
mostlikelyhighlightingthepresidentscommitmenttoamutualdefensealliance
thathequestionedbeforetakingoffice.Duringthemeetings,theadministration
said,Mr.TrumpandMr.StoltenbergwilltalkabouttheneedforRussiatocease
itsinterferenceineasternUkraineandsupportpeaceeffortsthere.
ThenewdynamicisasubstantialshiftfromMr.Trumpsstanceduringhis
presidentialcampaign,whenheoftenquestionedtheusefulnessofNATOand
regularlypraisedMr.Putin.
OnWednesday,WhiteHouseofficialssaid,thepresidentplannedtoexpress
anironcladcommitmenttotheallianceevenasheexploredwaystopressure
membernationstopourmoremoneyintotheirmilitarybudgetstohelpshoulder
theburdenofsecuringtheNorthAtlantic.
Mr.TrumphasoftenarguedthatNATOmemberscheattheUnitedStatesby
refusingtospendenoughtodefendthemselves.Lastmonth,afteravisitbythe
Germanchancellor,AngelaMerkel,hesaidthathercountryowedvastsumsto
theallianceandshouldpaytheUnitedStatesmoreforprotection.
TheTrumpadministrationwantsallNATOalliestodeliveraplanbytheend
oftheyearonhowtheywillmeetapledgeagreedtoin2014thatmembernations
wouldmovetowarddevoting2percentoftheirgrossdomesticproductstotheir
militarybudgetsby2024,withatleast20percenttobespentonequipment
procurementandresearchanddevelopment.
Mr.TrumpandMr.StoltenbergwerealsotodiscussNATOsrolein
supportingthefightagainsttheIslamicStateandotherterroristgroups,aswell
asmilitaryoperationsinAfghanistanandIraq,WhiteHouseofficialssaid.
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