NATO's First Meeting With Trump... "Discussing Global Security Issues"

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NATO visited the United States and met with President-elect Donald Trump amid heightened tensions as Russia fired hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine.

NATO said in a statement on the 23rd local time that Secretary-General Mark Rutter met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, the day before.

The two sides then "discussed the various global security challenges facing the alliance."

He also explained that Secretary-General Rutter also met with Representative Mike Waltz, the nominee for the second Trump administration's national security adviser, and members of the national security team.

Secretary-General Rutter visited Washington in 2018 when he was Dutch Prime Minister, where he met with then-President Trump and also at the NATO summit in Belgium.

Secretary-General Rutter and Trump are likely to have discussed how to respond to the recent escalating tensions in Ukraine.

Ukraine recently hit mainland Russia with US and UK-backed long-range missiles like Atax and Storm Shadow, while Russia responded by launching hypersonic intermediate range ballistic missiles for the first time.

Russia has previously revised its nuclear doctrine, warning that Western countries that support Ukraine could also be targeted by Russian nuclear weapons.