• NATO summit in London, Trump-Macron tensions
  • Macron: "NATO is brain dead". Merkel distances, Moscow applauds

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December 04, 2019It ended with the arrival of the American president Donald Trump, the catwalk of the arrival of the leaders of the 29 countries born for the 70-year summit in Watford, near London. The host was the British premier, Boris Johnson, relaxed and ready to fight as always, and the general secretary of the alliance, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg.

Previously all the other heads of state and government were included, including Giuseppe Conte, for Italy, in alphabetical order by country. French President Emmanuel Macron smiling; Hasty and apparently adumbrated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in open controversy with other allies on the Syrian and Kurdish question.

"Of course the Atlantic Alliance has a future," said Conte upon his arrival. Today the Italian premier will have a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including the one with US president Donald Trump, scheduled for 14.45 local time, the 15.45 Italian time.

Stoltenberg to Macron: the Alliance is not "brain dead"
The NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, replied to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who in recent days has called the Atlantic Alliance in a state of "brain death". "This is not the case," Stoltenberg told reporters, according to the 'DPA' agency. "NATO is the most successful alliance in history because we have been able to change over and over again when the world has changed," explained the general secretary.

Macron: do not portray the comments on the "brain death" of the Alliance
Emmanuel Macron does not retract the words spoken about the Alliance's crisis and the organization's brain death that infuriated Trump: "Absolutely yes", he responded to his arrival at the Nato summit to those who asked him if he still believed those words. "In reality, they allowed us to initiate some crucial debates," such as how to create lasting peace in Europe and clarify enemies. "I believe it was our responsibility to bring out the ambiguities that could prove harmful and to face a real strategic debate. It has begun, I am satisfied".

NATO secretary optimistic about the settlement of the dispute with Turkey
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was optimistic that a solution will be found to the dispute with Turkey, which threatened to block NATO's plans to defend Poland and the Baltic countries if the Atlantic Alliance does not recognize the terrorist threat posed by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (Ypg) in the north-east of Syria. "I am confident that we will also be able to find a solution to the problem concerning the updating of defense plans," Stoltenberg told reporters, according to the 'DPA' agency. The NATO secretary general stated that he had discussed the issue last night with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Bilateral Count-Johnson on the Alliance and the Mediterranean
Bilateral meeting in the margins of the summit of NATO leaders in London between the president of the council, Giuseppe Conte and the British premier Boris Johnson. On the table, informs Palazzo Chigi, the issues related to the future of the Alliance and the situation in the Mediterranean. The meeting lasted 25 minutes.

Johnson: enough disputes and divisions
Just fights and divisions, NATO finds again the spirit of harmony that has allowed it to be "for 70 years a gigantic shield of solidarity". It is the appeal of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the opening of the official work of the 70th anniversary summit in Watford, just outside London. "if the born has a motto, it is: one for all and all for one", incites johnson in swashbuckling style. to then cite article 5 as an "essential principle" of the alliance: "If one of us is attacked, we will all go to his defense".