MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

PM May and Trump talk about UK/US relationship and the role of NATO

“They discussed NATO, agreeing on the importance of the Alliance, the need for more NATO members to meet the target of spending 2% of GDP”.

Minister Theresa May spoke on Tuesday with President-elect Donald Trump about building close UK-US relationships and about the role of NATO. A Downing Street spokesperson said ”the Prime Minister called the US President-elect this afternoon as part of establishing a regular dialogue between both of them.

 “They discussed how the President-elect’s transition plans were progressing and agreed that their teams should continue to build close relationships through this period, including with a meeting of their national security advisers in the United States before Christmas.

”They discussed NATO, agreeing on the importance of the Alliance, the need for more NATO members to meet the target of spending 2% of GDP and the role that NATO can play in addressing diverse threats.

“They agreed to stay in close touch and to meet at the earliest possible opportunity”.

The last time the two leaders spoke was on 10 November, two days after Trump was elected US president. At the time the Prime Minister and President-elect Trump agreed that the US-UK relationship was very important and very special, and that building on this would be a priority for them both.

President-elect Trump set out his close and personal connections with, and warmth for, the UK. He said he was confident that the special relationship would go from strength to strength. Likewise Prime Minister May expressed her commitment to building and expanding the UK’s relationships around the world, particularly after the referendum vote, and the importance of our partnership with the US. She noted President-elect Trump’s commitment in his acceptance speech to uniting people across America, which she said is a task we all need to focus on globally.