Trump mulls designating Brazil as "maybe a NATO ally"March 20, 2019 - 14:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - US President Donald Trump and Brazil's new far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro forged a bond over their shared brand of conservative and populist politics on Tuesday, March 19, with Trump pledging to give more US support to Brazil's global ambitions, Al Jazeera reports. Speaking at a joint White House news conference Trump said: "As I told President Bolsonaro, I also intend to designate Brazil as a major non-NATO ally - or, maybe a NATO ally. I'll have to talk to a lot of people but maybe a NATO ally - which will greatly advance security and cooperation between our countries." Brazil has pursued a closer relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to make buying US weapons easier and to lower barriers to military and other cooperation with the US. At the outset of their first meeting, the two populist presidents exchanged football jerseys from their national teams, with Trump's name emblazoned on Brazil's famous yellow shirt and Bolsonaro's on the USA uniform. Bolsonaro, a former army captain who styled his 2018 campaign on Trump's 2016 run, has declared himself an unabashed admirer of the US president and his politics and the American way of life. Despite the friendly rhetoric, no major breakthroughs were expected from the White House meeting. In 2018, Colombia became the only Latin American nation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as a "global partner", which means it will not necessarily have to take part in military action. Trump also said he supported Brazil's efforts to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a club of the world's advanced economies. Brazil, the world's eighth-largest economy, applied in 2017 to join the OECD, which has around three dozen members including Latin American countries Mexico, Chile and Colombia. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event. Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Former Pashinyan envoy urges end to Genocide speculation Marukyan has urged authorities in Armenia stop discussions about verifying the names of 1.5 million victims. Azerbaijan, Jordan sign deal on defense cooperation Azerbaijan and Jordan have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense, according to an official statement. |