Military pact with GCC ruled out

Washington

The US has ruled out a military pact with the Arab Gulf states citing the complexities of forming a treaty in the Middle East. Ben Rhodes, the US deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, said that the US was committed to the defence of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, but a formal treaty would not happen in the near future.

“A treaty is not what we’re looking for. It took decades to build NATO and the Asian allies but we can provide clear assurances that we will come to their defence,” Rhodes said, alluding to a prospective alliance with the Gulf countries. The comments came a day before US President Barack Obama met leaders of the GCC at a summit at Camp David.