Top US, Swedish diplomats meet ahead of NATO summit

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday met with Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard in Washington, DC for talks.

The two "discussed a variety of issues, including the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, the situation in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the importance of secure supply chains," the State Department said.

Rubio expressed appreciation for Sweden’s support for NATO allies committing to spend 5% of GDP on defense and significant contributions to European and transatlantic security, it added.

Sweden joined NATO last year, after applying following the start of the Ukraine war.

US President Donald Trump has long complained that other members have "ripped off" the US and called for NATO allies to step up their defense expenditures to 5%.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last month that he assumes members will agree to a broad defense spending target of 5% of GDP during a summit in The Hague next week.