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US President Trump to visit Britain next month to attend NATO summit

The White House said in a statement that Trump and First Lady Melania would visit Britain from December 2 to 4.

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump will visit Britain for NATO's 70th-anniversary summit next month, the White House said on Friday.

"President Trump looks forward to meeting with the other NATO Heads of State and government to review the Alliance's unprecedented progress on burden-sharing, including adding more than USD 100 billion in new defence spending since 2016," the White House said in a release cited by Sputnik news.

The White House said in a statement that Trump and First Lady Melania would visit Britain from December 2 to 4, attending both the NATO gathering and a reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Trump's trip comes almost a week before the country votes in a general election on December 12 that has largely been dominated by Brexit- a hugely divisive plan for which Trump has voiced strong support.

Parliament's decision to back a December poll follows pressure from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to go to the electorate as part of his strategy to ensure Britain's departure from the European Union.

Johnson's gamble is that voters weary with the Brexit stalemate will give him the mandate to withdraw by spurning "obstructive" lawmakers in a so-called "people versus parliament" poll, Al Jazeera reported.

Analysts say he is taking a huge risk in his attempt to create a new parliamentary majority behind the withdrawal deal he agreed with Brussels on October 17 and tried to rush through parliament.

Johnson had promised that the UK would leave the EU "do or die" on October 31 but was forced to ask for an extension after failing to get the deal through Parliament.

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