February 12, 2020
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO defense ministers agreed on Wednesday to expand the Western alliance’s training mission in Iraq, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, responding to a demand by U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO to do more in the Middle East.
NATO will take over some of the training activities carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Stoltenberg said, meaning the decision does not necessarily require an increase in Western troops in Iraq.
“Today, allied ministers … agreed in principle to enhance NATO’s training mission,” Stoltenberg told a news conference. “In the first instance, this will consist of taking on some of the global coalition’s current training activities.”
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Gareth Jones)
