NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Italy (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s first trip abroad (all times local):
11:50 p.m.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn says President Donald Trump is “looking at” the future of U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Asked what the current administration position is, Cohn said, “Right now, we don’t have a position.”
Cohn spoke to reporters on Air Force One as Trump headed to the Group of 7 summit in Sicily. G-7 leaders kicked Russia out of the group of wealthy nations for its annexation of Ukrainian territory.
Cohn says he expects Russia to be a topic during the two-day summit. Pressed on what specifically the White House was looking into on sanctions, Cohn would only say that Trump has “many options.”
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11 p.m.
President Donald Trump is opening the final leg of his maiden international trip, landing in Italy for meetings with the Group of 7 leaders.
Trump and leaders from some of the world’s wealthiest nations will hold wide-ranging talks on foreign affairs, including terrorism, trade and economic growth in Taormina, Italy.
The White House is expects Trump to be pressed by many of the G-7 leaders to stay in the Paris climate accord. Trump has said he’s waiting until after he returns to Washington to make a decision on whether to withdraw from the deal, which was agreed to by the Obama administration.
The other G-7 leaders are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trump flew to the Italian island of Sicily from Brussels, where he attended NATO meetings and met with European Union officials.
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8:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump has concluded his participation in a NATO summit in Brussels and is on his way to Sicily for further consultations with his world counterparts.
Trump is scheduled to participate in two days of talks in Taormina, Italy, with the leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. They are the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Sicily is the fifth and final stop on the first international trip Trump has taken since he became president in January.
Trump opened the trip in Saudi Arabia. He then traveled to Israel and Rome, to meet with the pope, before arriving in Brussels on Wednesday night for Thursday’s NATO summit.
He is scheduled to return to Washington late Saturday.
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8:30 p.m.
Authorities have detained dozens of protesters who attempted to block a route to a summit at NATO headquarters by lying down.
The peace activists refused to move despite repeated police requests. They were detained during ceremonies at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Their actions did not appear to impede leaders arriving to dedicate a gleaming new headquarters building.
Thursday’s demonstrations drew a few hundred protesters.
About 10,000 people attended an anti-Trump demonstration in Brussels on Wednesday.
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6:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump’s push to get in front of the pack at the NATO summit in Belgium is getting attention.
Video footage from the gathering shows Trump putting his right hand on the right arm of Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and pushing himself ahead as NATO leaders walked inside the alliance’s new headquarters in Brussels.
Trump then stands near Markovic and speaks to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. The video garnered attention on social media.
Montenegro is scheduled to formally become NATO’s 29th member in early June.
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5:50 p.m.
The White House says U.S. first lady Melania Trump and Belgium’s Queen Mathilde have participated in a forum on protecting children from online exploitation.
Mrs. Trump attended the forum at the queen’s invitation after she arrived in Brussels late Wednesday with President Donald Trump. The presentation about Child Focus, a center for missing and sexually exploited children that was founded in Brussels, was held at the palace. It was closed to news media coverage.
Mrs. Trump said in a written statement afterward that it’s important to teach children that computers are useful tools but that they can also be used by people who want to harm them.
She previously has identified cyberbullying as an issue she’ll work on as first lady, but has yet to announce any initiatives on the issue.
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5:30 p.m.
The European Union and the United States will be making a fresh effort to align their commercial policies.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says after meeting with President Donald Trump that delegations from both sides will meet soon to review commercial issues. Juncker says “we think divergences were too big.”
The 28-nation EU and the United States have been negotiating for years on a trans-Atlantic trade agreement that would bring the world’s two biggest economic blocs closer together. Trump has shown little appetite for such deals and has said he would rather negotiate with individual nations.
Juncker says they discussed international trade and free trade, and stressed the need for “free but loyal competition.”
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5:10 p.m.
President Donald Trump made no explicit mention of NATO’s mutual defense pact on Thursday even as he spoke at a ceremony unveiling a memorial dedicated to it.
Trump has so far refused to personally commit to abiding by Article 5. U.S., which commits allies to defend any of the 28 members that come under attack. But Press Secretary Sean Spicer says, “It goes without saying” that Trump’s presence at the event underscores the White House’s “commitments and treaty obligations.”
Trump spoke at the unveiling of a steel beam from the 107th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels.
It’s intended as a reminder of NATO’s commitment to its collective defense clause. Article 5 has only been activated once, after 9/11.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that “of course” the United States supports Article 5.
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4:55 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron has lauded his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump as friendly and very frank, despite continued uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to a key climate change agreement.
Macron says he and Trump didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but committed to reinforcing U.S. and French cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Macron added that he respects that Trump is still reviewing the U.S. stance on the Paris climate agreement. But Macron adds that he reinforced for Trump the importance that France and the rest of the world see in the U.S. sticking to the pact.
The French president called his lunch meeting with Trump “very direct and very frank” and says pragmatism was at the “heart” of their exchange.
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4:48 p.m.
President Donald Trump is lecturing members of the NATO alliance to pay their fair share on defense during a ceremony at NATO headquarters.
Trump says NATO members must “finally contribute their fair share” and meet their obligations.
The president has been urging NATO leaders to live up to a 2011 decision to increase spending on defense to 2 percent of GDP by 2024.
Trump says 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should and he says it’s “not fair” to the people of the United States. He says many of these nations owe “massive” amounts of money from previous years.
The president spoke as the other NATO leaders looked on.
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4:41 p.m.
President Donald is calling for a moment of silence for the victims of the Manchester concert attack.
The president is speaking at a dedication ceremony for a new 9/11 memorial at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
He says that “today is a day for both remembrance and resolve” and that the attack demonstrates “the depths of the evil we face with terrorism.”
Trump has urged NATO members to spend more money on defense.
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4:37 p.m.
President Donald Trump is attending a dedication service for two new memorials at NATO headquarters.
Trump stood on as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg unveiled two sections of the Berlin Wall that divided the German city until 1989.
The pieces, standing together, form a monument that symbolizes the efforts to end the division of Europe.
Trump and Stoltenberg are also unveiling a steel beam from the 107th floor of one of the World Trade Center towers that collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.
It’s a reminder of NATO’s commitment to its collective defense clause - so called Article 5. It has only ever been activated once, after 9/11.
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4:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump is pledging to “get to the bottom” of leaks of sensitive information.
In a written statement Thursday, Trump called recent leaks “deeply troubling.” He said he is asking the Justice Department and other agencies to “launch a complete review of this matter.”
Trump adds that “if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Trump’s comments come amid anger from Britain over intelligence leaks and a decision by Manchester police to withhold information from the United States about the investigation into this week’s bombing.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has said she will make it clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies “must remain secure.”
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4:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived at NATO headquarters for an afternoon of meetings with fellow world leaders.
Trump was greeted by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the organization’s new headquarters in Brussels.
Stoltenberg visited the White House last month and touted NATO’s benefits at a joint press conference with Trump.
Trump had previously questioned NATO’s relevance.
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4:04 p.m.
British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will press U.S. President Donald Trump on keeping shared intelligence confidential, after leaks from the investigation of the Manchester concert attack.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at a NATO summit in Brussels, May said that the U.S.-British defense and security partnership is built on trust.
But she says, “part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently.”
She said that when she sees Trump at the summit Thursday she will stress “that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure.”
She said the Manchester attack shows why it’s important for the international community and NATO to do more about the fight against terrorism.
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3:59 p.m.
President Donald Trump is on his way to NATO headquarters in Brussels for his first meeting with a group he criticized mercilessly during his campaign.
Trump has rattled the group with musings about pulling out of the pact because other countries aren’t dedicating enough money to defense and called the alliance “obsolete.”
But he’s softened his stance considerably since taking office in January.
Trump is set to deliver remarks at the unveiling of memorials dedicated to the Berlin Wall and one that will serve as a reminder of NATO’s commitment to its collective defense clause - so called Article 5. It has only been activated once, after 9/11.
He’ll also attend a working dinner with other member leaders.
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3:32 p.m.
Several hundred protesters have gathered outside the NATO summit in Brussels to demonstrate against NATO and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The group was tiny compared to the 10,000 demonstrators who came out Wednesday to protest Trump’s visit. But the summit won’t start until late afternoon, so the crowds could still swell.
Security officials have cordoned off a large protest zone outside NATO headquarters. Protesters there are holding banners that say “NATO game over” and “peace.”
At one point, some 50 demonstrators tried to block a road using banners.
Stephanie Demblon of the “Agir pour la paix” pacifist group says Trump “makes people scared” and says he’s “shown over the past months that he isn’t a man of peace.”
The anti-NATO activist says she’s worried that Trump, who criticized NATO during his campaign, is now beginning to see the partnership as “something very useful to his aims.”
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2:09 p.m.
The White House is condemning recent violence in the Philippines by militants linked to the Islamic State group.
In a statement released Thursday, the White House says “cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens.”
It adds that the United States will provide “support and assistance to Philippine counterterrorism efforts.” The statement from the press secretary says the United States is a “proud ally of the Philippines.”
Army tanks packed with soldiers have rolled into a southern Philippine city to try to restore control after militants linked to the Islamic State group launched a violent siege. Thousands of civilians have been fleeing Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.
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1:38 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron says he has a long list of issues to discuss with U.S. President Donald Trump, including the fight against terrorism, the economy and climate and energy issues.
The two leaders are meeting for the first time over lunch at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium’s residence. They’ll dine on tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, veal filet with potatoes, tri-colored vegetables, and a duo of Belgian chocolate mousse.
The two also shared an intense handshake, gripping each other’s hands so tightly that Trump’s knuckles appeared to turn white.
Macron has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump’s musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty. White House officials say Trump has not made a decision yet about whether the U.S. will fulfill its obligations under the deal.
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1:25 p.m.
President Donald Trump is praising newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders meet for the first time.
Trump and Macron met at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium’s residence Thursday for a working lunch.
Trump says Macron had an “incredible victory, all over the world they’re talking about it.” He added that the two have a lot to discuss, including terrorism.
Macron has said he expects to discuss defense and security issues during the pair’s first face-to-face meeting. He has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump’s musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty.
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1:19 p.m.
President Donald Trump did not respond to a shouted question about whether the British can trust America with intelligence following a series of leaks blamed on U.S. officials.
British authorities are livid over leaks related to the Manchester concert bombing. They include photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the attack that were published by The New York Times. It is not clear that the newspaper obtained the photos from U.S. officials.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to raise the issue with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels later Thursday.
She says she plans to “make clear to President Trump that intelligence that is shared between our law enforcement agencies must remain secure.”
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1:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is meeting with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump and Macron are holding a working lunch at the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium’s residence Thursday.
Macron was elected over far-right opponent Marine Le Pen in the French presidential runoff earlier this month. Trump called him after his victory to congratulate him.
Macron has said he expects to discuss defense and security issues during the meeting. He has been critical of Trump in the past, including denouncing Trump’s musings on abandoning the Paris climate treaty.
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12:43 p.m.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump cheered up children in a Belgian hospital with Dr. Seuss books and crepe paper flowers while her husband met with European Union leaders.
Young patients at the Queen Fabiola Children’s University Hospital used a sketch toy to make a sign reading “Welcome Mrs. Trump.”
The first lady, wearing a knee-length dusty rose leather jacket and skirt, toured the hospital Thursday and joined a group of children making paper flowers, a Belgian tradition. Two of the children sitting with her were hooked up to IVs.
They shared opinions on favorite flowers. The first lady said she likes peonies, tulips, roses and especially orchids.
Mrs. Trump also visited the Vatican’s children’s hospital earlier this week and gave the children Dr. Seuss books.
She’s expected to join the spouses of other leaders in town for a NATO summit for a visit to the Magritte Museum and the Belgian royal palace later Thursday.
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12:31 p.m.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has joined President Donald Trump for the next leg of his trip and is participating in meetings with European leaders.
The composition of the U.S. delegation has evolved over the course of the president’s maiden foreign trip.
Chief of staff Reince Priebus, chief strategist Steve Bannon and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross all returned home after the president’s first stop in Saudi Arabia.
And Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump broke off before Trump traveled to Brussels, as previously planned.
The president will be returning to Washington on Saturday after nine days abroad.
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12:00 p.m.
European Union Council President Donald Tusk says talks with President Donald Trump reveal differences on key issues, including how to deal with Russia.
Tusk said Thursday that he was not “100 percent sure” the two leaders have “a common position, a common opinion, about Russia.” But he said that regarding Ukraine “it seems that we were on the same line.”
Trump met with European Union leaders Thursday morning in Brussels.
Tusk also said that “Some issues remain open like climate and trade,” where the EU is pushing for full respect of the Paris Agreement on climate and open multilateral trade deals.
But he insisted there was full agreement on many issues, including “first and foremost, on counter terrorism.”
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11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump got to meet two European Union Presidents at the same time.
Under the convoluted rules of the 28-nation bloc, Donald Tusk presides over the Council of EU leaders and chairs summit meetings while Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker heads the EU executive.
“You know, Mr President, we have two presidents in the EU,” Tusk said as they started their meeting. “I know that,” Trump said.
Juncker joked: “There is one too much.”
Trump concluded his meeting at the European Union headquarters at about 11:30 a.m. He headed to the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium’s residence where he was set to have a working lunch with newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
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11:00 a.m.
President Donald Trump is speaking with European Union leaders during a meeting in Brussels.
Trump sat down Thursday with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, and other officials.
Trump publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU last summer.
Trump is in the midst of a nine-day international trip. It is his first foreign trip and has included stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican.
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10:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump is meeting with European Union leaders.
Trump arrived at European Union headquarters Thursday morning. He was greeted by the group’s president.
Trump publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU last summer.
The visit comes as part of Trump’s first international trip. The nine-day tour has included rapturous receptions in Saudi Arabia and Israel, and a polite meeting with Pope Francis in Rome.
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8:30 a.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump woke to a gorgeous spring morning in Brussels - and a huge flag from Greenpeace criticizing his policies.
Around 7 a.m., the environmental group got on top of a construction crane close to the U.S. embassy where Trump stayed overnight and unfurled a huge banner saying “#RESIST.”
Two activists were up in the air to make sure the flag hung straight and would be clearly visible.
Greenpeace has been an ardent critic of Trump’s environmental views on climate change and global warming. Those issues will take central stage at the G7 summit in Sicily starting Friday.
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6:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump will be in the heart of Europe Thursday to address a continent still reeling from his election and anxious about his support.
Trump is slated to attend his first meeting of NATO, the decades-long partnership that has been rattled by the new president’s wavering on honoring its bonds.
Trump has mused about pulling out of the pact because he believed other countries were not paying their fair share. He also has so far refused to commit to abiding by Article 5, in which member nations vow to come to each other’s defense.
The president is slated to meet with the heads of European Union institutions after having publicly cheered for the dissolution of the body when the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU.
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