NATO's future could be decided in Washington this week

The White House announced on Friday that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte would be visiting Washington next week.

The visit comes against a backdrop of uncertainty about the US commitment to the Atlantic Alliance and its members, and European mobilisation to strengthen regional and Ukrainian defence.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said that Mr Rutte would be visiting the US capital in the next few days as part of ongoing diplomatic exchanges to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the possibility of a hypothetical peace agreement between Kiev and Moscow.

At a meeting between US President Donald Trump and the press in the Oval Office, which Mr Waltz also attended, the adviser highlighted the series of contacts that the President has had in the first few weeks following his return to the White House, including a visit from the Ukrainian President, Volodymir Zelenski, which ended in a public confrontation between the two leaders.

(MH with D. Rodriguez/Source: Agence/Photo: DPA/Consolidated News Photos/Chris Kleponis - CNP)