12/4/2017 TrumpSaysItsLikelyRussiaKnewofSyrianGasAttackinAdvanceTheNewYorkTimes

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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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