RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman condemned the attack on an Egyptian mosque that killed more than 300 worshippers and said it would galvanize an Islamic military coalition he convened in Riyadh on Sunday.
Top defense officials from some 40 Muslim-majority countries met for a summit aimed at countering “terrorism.”
The alliance was announced two years ago by the crown prince, who also serves as defense minister of the country.
“(The attack) was a very painful occurrence and must make us contemplate in an international and powerful way the role of this terrorism and extremism,” the crown prince said.
Gunmen attacked a mosque on Friday in Egypt’s North Sinai killing more than 300 worshippers, including two dozen children.
Officials have described the coalition as a grouping that would allow member states to request or offer assistance among themselves in fighting groups they designate as terrorists.
Such assistance could include military force, financial aid, material or security expertise, and will have a permanent base in Riyadh.
The coalition will focus not only on a military, security and intelligence track but also efforts to combat terrorist financing and ideology.
“The biggest threat from terrorism and extremism is not only killing innocent people and spreading hate, but tarnishing the reputation of our religion and distorting our belief,” the crown prince said in opening remarks.
Saudi crown prince condemns Egypt attack at Islamic military gathering
Saudi crown prince condemns Egypt attack at Islamic military gathering
‘Keep dreaming’: NATO chief says Europe can’t defend itself without US
BRUSSELS: NATO chief Mark Rutte warned Monday Europe cannot defend itself without the United States, in the face of calls for the continent to stand on its own feet after tensions over Greenland.
US President Donald Trump roiled the transatlantic alliance by threatening to seize the autonomous Danish territory — before backing off after talks with Rutte last week.
The diplomatic crisis sparked gave fresh momentum to those advocating for Europe to take a tougher line against Trump and break its military reliance on Washington.
“If anyone thinks here again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US — keep on dreaming. You can’t,” Rutte told lawmakers at the European Parliament.
He said that EU countries would have to double defense spending from the five percent NATO target agreed last year to 10 percent and spend “billions and billions” on building nuclear arms.
“You would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella,” Rutte said. “So hey, good luck.”
The former Dutch prime minister insisted that US commitment to NATO’s Article Five mutual defense clause remained “total,” but that the United States expected European countries to keep spending more on their militaries.
“They need a secure Euro-Atlantic, and they also need a secure Europe. So the US has every interest in NATO,” he said.
The NATO head reiterated his repeated praise for Trump for pressuring reluctant European allies to step up defense spending.
He also appeared to knock back a suggestion floated by the EU’s defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius earlier this month for a possible European defense force that could replace US troops on the continent.
“It will make things more complicated. I think Putin will love it. So think again,” Rutte said.
On Greenland, Rutte said he had agreed with Trump that NATO would “take more responsibility for the defense of the Arctic,” but it was up to Greenlandic and Danish authorities to negotiate over US presence on the island.
“I have no mandate to negotiate on behalf of Denmark, so I didn’t, and I will not,” he said.
Rutte reiterated that he had stressed to Trump the cost paid by NATO allies in Afghanistan after the US leader caused outrage by playing down their contribution.
“For every two American soldiers who paid the ultimate price, one soldier of an ally or a partner, a NATO ally or a partner country, did not return home,” he said.
“I know that America greatly appreciates all the efforts.”
