Pompeo in Brussels to show support for NATO, hours after being sworn in

Barely 12 hours after beingsworn in, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went straight toNATO headquarters on Friday in what European allies saw asstrong support for an institution that U.S. President DonaldTrump once called obsolete.

In a closed door meeting, Pompeo and fellow foreignministers of the military pact forged a consensus on the need for a response to "Russian aggression,"a U.S. official said,adding that Pompeo pressed allies to raise military budgets.

Earlier Pompeo was quick to praise NATO as "invaluable" justminutes after getting off his plane, in his first meeting of theday, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, a sharpcontrast to Trump's earlier rebuke of the alliance.

"The work that is being done here today is invaluable andour objectives are important and this mission means a lot to theUnited States of America," Pompeo told Stoltenberg.

Despite European confusion about Trump's foreign policy andhis "America First" rhetoric, allies feted Pompeo. Dutch ForeignMinister Stef Blok said it was "impressive to come here onenight after being inaugurated. It's an impressive start."

Stoltenberg said Pompeo's visit to Brussels was "a greatexpression of the importance of the alliance."

Pompeo, a former army officer who was a Republicancongressman, is regarded as a loyal supporter of Trump with hawkish views. But on Russia those views are largely shared byEuropean allies because of Moscow's 2014 seizure of Crimea.

Dealing with 'hybrid attacks'

Pompeo's presence at NATO was seen as crucial as thealliance prepares for a July 11-12 summit in Brussels where NATOleaders are set to agree on a new deterrent to Moscow, including acommand to defend the Atlantic in the case of conflict.

Even before his confirmation on Thursday, the former CIAdirector was already involved in U.S. diplomacy, although this is first meeting at NATO, an organization founded on defenceagainst the threat from the former Soviet Union.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said NATO needed torespond to what the West says is the Kremlin's mix of not justthe conventional military threat, but covert and cyber-warfare.

"One of the key things we're doing is looking again at...how we strengthen our collective response to the kind of hybrid attacks that so many NATO allies are experiencing from Russia,"he told reporters.

The NATO foreign ministers meeting follows the poisoning ofSergei Skripal, a former Russian agent in Britain, and Westernairstrikes against Russia-allied Syria, which the United Statesaccused of a chemical attack in Douma on April 7.

The allies discussed Russia with Pompeo, focusing on theSkripal affair and Syria, and a push for NATO to find new waysto counter Russian tactics.

"There was consensus on Russian aggression, the scale ofRussian aggression and this being a problem that requires aresponse," said a U.S. official present at the closed-doorsession, adding that decisions on the issue will be left to NATOleaders.

Middle East diplomacy

Pompeo pressed allies to increase their military budgets tomeet a target of two per cent of economic output spent on defenceevery year by 2024, as well as ensuring 20 per cent of the outlayis on equipment, a U.S. official said.

The issue is sensitive to Europeans because the region isrecovering from a long economic crisis and defence spending isless of a priority. But the United States insists that allies,especially Germany, pay their fair share of defending Europe.

As he left Washington on Thursday, the State Department saidPompeo would also visit Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel duringthe weekend. He will have to quickly address a wide array ofpressing international issues, including long conflicts in Syriaand Afghanistan, as well as Russian assertiveness.

Washington is also working with European allies France,Germanyand Britain on toughening a 2015 nuclear agreement withIran, an issue Pompeo is expected to discuss while in Brussels.

Pompeo opposed the Iran nuclear accord while in Congress.

He once suggested the answer to Tehran's nuclear program which Iran has always said was for peaceful means only was2,000 bombing sorties.

Pompeo said during his confirmation that he was open to fixingrather than blowing apartthe pact, which the West believes isessential to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb.

He will discuss the nuclear agreement and Iran's regionalinfluence in Yemen and Syria when he visits the Middle East.

On his first stop in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Pompeo willmeet Saudi King Salman and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. InJerusalem, he will meet Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu, and in Jordan hold talks with King Abdullah.