Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice’s Meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice met today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to discuss transatlantic security issues, progress on commitments from the 2014 Wales Summit, and plans for the next NATO Summit in 2016.  The two reviewed the status of NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, which will bolster collective defense within the alliance, and discussed the President’s recent decision to maintain approximately 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2015 and NATO’s ongoing Resolute Support Mission to train, advice and assist the Afghan National Security Forces.  The two discussed the alliance’s expanding role in building the defense capacities of NATO partner nations.  They also reiterated their commitment to moving allies toward the defense investment targets agreed at Wales.  Ambassador Rice thanked the NATO Secretary General for his strong leadership of the alliance at a critical period for European security, and was pleased to convey the President’s invitation for him to visit in May.