Rubio to visit Sweden for NATO meeting, then India

By Michael Martina

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Sweden for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers this week where he will discuss the need for “greater burden sharing” by the alliance, and then visit India, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Under President Donald Trump, U.S. ties with both NATO and India have been strained, with the president repeatedly threatening to pull out of the alliance and imposing high tariffs on India.

Rubio will stop in Helsingborg on May 22 and “discuss the need for increased defense investment and greater burden sharing in the Alliance,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

He will also meet counterparts from the Arctic Seven nations – Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland – to discuss “shared economic and security interests,” Pigott said.

Rubio will visit India from May 23 to 26, stopping in Kolkata, Agra, Jaipur, and New Delhi for talks on energy security, trade, and defense cooperation, he said.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticised NATO members for not contributing more to joint military efforts. Friction has deepened after European countries declined to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and over Trump’s earlier proposal to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish ​territory.

European leaders have agreed Europe should take on more responsibility for its own security.

NATO countries last year set new spending targets of 3.5% of GDP on core defense and 1.5% on broader measures such as cybersecurity, infrastructure and logistics.

Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoyed warm ties during Trump’s first term, but relations cooled after India was hit last year with some of the highest U.S. tariffs, ⁠many ​of which were rolled back. The two countries are now working on a trade deal aimed at avoiding further tariff hikes.

India is also a member of the Quad grouping with the United States, Japan and Australia.  Japan’s Jiji Press reported Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi will visit New Delhi on May 26 for a Quad meeting expected to focus on strengthening supply chains for critical minerals in response to China.

The State Department statement made no mention of a Quad meeting.

In an April call, Trump ​and Modi stressed ‌the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as a conduit for 40% of India’s crude oil imports, open and secure.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)