NATO says it will reschedule meeting so Tillerson can attend

March 22, 2017 at 4:42 p.m. | Updated March 22, 2017 at 4:50 p.m.

by Associated Press

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy during the Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition on the Defeat of ISIS, Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the State Department in Washington. Top officials from the 68-nation coalition fighting the Islamic State group are looking to increase pressure on the group as U.S.-backed forces move closer to retaking Mosul. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy during the Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition on the Defeat of ISIS, Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at the State Department in Washington. Top officials from the 68-nation coalition fighting the Islamic State group are looking to increase pressure on the group as U.S.-backed forces move closer to retaking Mosul. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of NATO says he is certain a semiannual meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers can be rescheduled so Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can attend.

U.S. officials said this week that Tillerson was planning to skip next month's meeting in Brussels. Shortly after, he plans to visit Moscow. The decisions led some European officials to worry about the Trump administration's commitment to the alliance.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press in an interview that he met with Tillerson Wednesday and they agreed to have their staffs work out an alternative schedule. Stoltenberg said he was "absolutely certain" they could find a date that works for everyone.

Stoltenberg was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting in Washington of the 68-nation coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

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