NATO is the "bulwark of international peace and security" but its European members "must pay what they owe," US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday alongside the political head of the military alliance.

Reversing some of his campaign rhetoric, Trump told a joint news conference that NATO "is no longer obsolete" and hailed its role in the fight "against terrorism."

But he renewed his argument that NATO's member states need to dedicate two percent of their gross domestic product to military expenditure.

"In facing our common challenges, we must also ensure that NATO members meet their financial obligations and pay what they owe," he said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he and Trump had agreed in their talk that "NATO is a bedrock of security, both for Europe and for the United States... and therefore I welcome the very strong commitment of the United States to the security of Europe."

Increased concerns among NATO's European states about Russian military activity on its eastern flank fed into a question to Trump about strained ties with Russia.

Trump replied that "it would be wonderful... if NATO and our country could get along with Russia."

He said "we may be at an all-time low in terms of our relationship with Russia," but said it would be "a fantastic thing" if the relationship could improve with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Top US lawmaker Ryan visits European NATO allies next week
Washington (AFP) April 12, 2017 - US House Speaker Paul Ryan will head a bipartisan delegation next week to Europe to meet with leaders of NATO allies including Estonia, his office said Wednesday, amid Russia's rising tensions with the West.

The delegation will travel to Britain, Norway, Poland and Estonia to "meet with government officials and military leaders to review and discuss evolving security threats facing Europe as well as opportunities for greater economic cooperation," Ryan's office said in a statement.

The speaker, the most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives and an ally of President Donald Trump, will be joined by House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry and four other Republicans, along with two House Democrats.

As part of the trip, Ryan will deliver remarks at the Policy Exchange, a leading British think tank, on April 19.

The US delegation's mission will be seen as particularly poignant in Poland and Estonia, nations near the front lines of the Kremlin's increasingly sharp tone with the West.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization reinforced its eastern flank in March by deploying British troops and equipment in Estonia, where many citizens remain disturbed by Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the Kremlin's sabre rattling in the Baltic region.

NATO decided at a July 2016 summit to deploy its troops to the Baltic states and Poland as a tripwire against Russian adventurism in states formerly under Moscow's control.

Tensions have risen following Trump's launch of an airstrike on a Syrian air base in retaliation for an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians by the Syrian regime, a Russian ally.

Ryan's trip was preceded by a delegation to Italy and Portugal this week led by congressman Steve Scalise, the House's number three Republican.

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EU's Mogherini to make first to visit to Russia
Brussels (AFP) April 12, 2017
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini will make her first official visit to Russia this month, with relations strained to breaking point by the Ukraine conflict and the war in Syria. She will also visit China and India next week, her office said in a statement on Wednesday. Most attention is likely to focus on her trip to Moscow on April 24, with ties in deep freeze over its suppor ... read more

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