Germany says Trump military spending won’t guarantee peace
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia–Germany says the United States’ plan to spend more on its military won’t guarantee peace and it criticizes the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to foreign aid.
Germany’s development minister, Gerd Mueller, spoke April 4 while announcing what he called a “Marshall Plan with Africa” focused on improving economic growth, security and rule of law.
Diplomats applauded as Mueller said that
anyone who pretends that more military is the answer will see that he will not be getting more peace.”
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget seeks a $54 billion boost for the military and deep cuts of roughly 31 percent for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development. AP
Britain to offer Jordan more trainers in anti-IS strikes
AMMAN, Jordan–Visiting British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday that her country would enhance training of Jordan’s air force, which has been carrying out strikes against Islamic State group targets as part of an international coalition against the extremists.
May and Jordan’s King Abdullah II flew by helicopter to a military base on the outskirts of the capital of Amman where they greeted troops and inspected weaponry.
“We’ve been working with their armed forces, helping with training for some time now and we will be enhancing that,” she said.
She said Britain would work with Jordan’s air force, with training to take place in Jordan and the UK. May said the arrangement is mutually beneficial to the security interests of both countries.
Later on April 3, she held talks with Abdullah in Amman.
Jordan is a key member of the U.S.-led international military coalition against Islamic State, which holds territory in neighboring Syria and Iraq. The group is perceived as an internal and external threat to the kingdom. AP
Albania PM calls Montenegro NATO entry historic for Balkans
PODGORICA, Montenegro–Albania’s prime minister says neighboring Montenegro’s upcoming accession into NATO is an “historic event” for the troubled Balkan region.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said April 3 that Montenegro’s entry into the military alliance would mean that the “entire Adriatic and Ionian coast will become a zone of NATO.”
Montenegro is slated to join NATO once all 28 member states confirm the entry in their parliaments. The U.S. Senate gave its approval last week.
Russia strongly opposes NATO’s expansion in the Balkans. Montenegro accuses Moscow of plotting an election day coup in October to try to keep the country out of the alliance.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic says he expects accession opponents to organize protests ahead of parliamentary ratification of the entry protocol in coming weeks. Markovic says protests are “legitimate.” AP