Kerry: NATO work won’t change ‘one iota’ after Brexit

by TheHill.com - 06/27/16 9:44 AM ET

Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday reaffirmed support for NATO in the wake of the Brexit, or British exit, vote shaking the political debate in Europe.

Kerry said the United Kingdom’s engagement in the NATO alliance “is as important as ever” following the U.K.’s vote last week to leave the European Union.

{mosads}”We have high expectations of a very strong NATO meeting [next month] with important deliverables that will not change one iota as a consequence of the vote that has taken place,” Kerry said Monday, speaking alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

Britain was among the 22 nations that were part of both the EU economic bloc and U.S.-led NATO alliance.

Last week, a majority of British voters opted to leave the EU in a stunning vote prompting global financial uncertainty and a stock market tumble. After the vote, Stoltenberg said the U.K.’s position in NATO would “remain unchanged.”

Stoltenberg on Monday argued that NATO’s importance as a stabilizing force in Europe in terms of defense and security cooperation has grown in the wake of the vote. Kerry, who is on a tour of Brussels and London on Monday in an effort to reassure U.S. allies after the vote, predicted “an even stronger NATO going forward.”

Both officials pointed to a NATO summit next month in Warsaw as a moment to strengthen the alliance, coming just weeks after Britain voted to leave the EU, spurring speculation of other disengagements. NATO’s chief had said before the vote that Europe would be stronger if Britain stayed in the EU.

“Since the United Kingdom is the biggest European NATO ally when it comes to forces, military capabilities, it really matters what the U.K. does,” Stoltenberg said last week, according to The Associated Press.