NATO urges its members to step up counter-terrorism efforts
(VOVWORLD) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday he expects NATO allies to step up and agree to do more in the fight against terrorism, following this week’s attack in Manchester, which killed at least 22 people.
All 28 NATO allies have joined the coalition as individual countries, but Stoltenberg said that if the alliance itself became a unified member, it would significantly boost coordination in the war against IS. It would also send a strong message of unity against terrorism.
 British Prime Minister Theresa May met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in London on May 10 (AFP/VNA) |
Fighting terrorism was high on the agenda of this week’s two-day NATO summit in Brussels. The summit took place amid disputes over whether NATO should join the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. US President Donald Trump said he hopes NATO will join the coalition as a major support of anti-terrorism campaigns in Syria and Iraq.
NATO has deployed surveillance planes known as AWACS to support the international campaign and has trained Iraqi counter-terrorism forces but insists that it would not participate in combat operation.