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WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will skip a NATO meeting early April, the U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday.
"The Secretary's schedule does not permit him to attend the NATO ministerial on those dates, but as I said, we're trying to accommodate this ministerial in his schedule," said his acting spokesman Mark Toner at the briefing.
Instead, the United States will send Tom Shannon, the acting deputy secretary of state, to the NATO meeting on April 5-6, said Toner.
Though Tillerson would not be the first U.S. secretary of state to skip the NATO meeting, his decision came at a time when U.S. allies in NATO are questioning whether U.S. President Donald Trump would continue to support the 28-nation alliance.
During his presidential campaign and after the election victory, Trump blasted NATO as "obsolete" and demanded other NATO allies to raise their defense spending.
NATO members are expected to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. So far, only five signatory governments, including the United States, have met the obligation.
However, since his inauguration in January, Trump and his senior officials have repeatedly pledged full support for NATO.
"We have raised concerns, certainly, about NATO allies all reaching their commitments," said Toner. "But that shouldn't in any way speak to our disregard for the alliance or our commitment to the alliance and the security of Europe."
