Trump’s statements no reason to cancel royal visit, Jetten says
Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten has described US president Donald Trump’s social media post about destroying Iranian civilisation as “worrying” but said it is no reason to cancel next week’s visit to the White House by king Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima.
Jetten made the comment during a debate with the senate on the government’s plans for the next four years, before the announcement of a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan.
However, Trump’s comments, Jetten told senators, “does absolutely nothing to help find a solution” to the conflict, the Volkskrant reported.
Socialist senator Rik Janssen asked the prime minister during the debate if it was still sensible to send the royal couple to Washington, where they are due to spend the night in the White House itself. Trump’s threat, he said, contravenes the Geneva Convention.
Jetten, however, declined to speculate on the consequences, prompting Niko Koffeman from the pro-animal PvdD to ask, “What level of war crime would you attach consequences to?”
Jetten also declined to answer, saying it was a “what-if question”. However, he went on to describe Trump’s recent posts as “unacceptable”.
He also said that both Israel and the US are attacking civilian infrastructure, “which does not fit within the boundaries of international law”.
“Next week we will have the opportunity to say what we think about the escalation [of the conflict],” the prime minister said. He is due to join the king and queen for a banquet at the White House hosted by Trump.
Royal visit
The couple will travel to the US from April 13 to April 15 for a working visit to Philadelphia, Miami and Washington DC.
The invitation to the White House follows Trump’s visit to the Netherlands during the Nato summit last year, when he stayed at Huis ten Bosch palace.
Foreign minister Tom Berendsen will accompany the royals during their visit to Pennsylvania, while foreign trade minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma will join the programme in Florida.
The aim of the visit is to strengthen the economic ties between the Netherlands and Pennsylvania and Florida, the RVD said.
Britain’s king Charles is also due to visit the US at the end of April for the independence commemorations but there have been mounting calls for the trip to be cancelled because of Trump’s outspoken comments about Britain and the war in Iran.
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