BRUSSELS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The United States strives to transform the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into an alliance based on partnership rather than dependency, U.S. Defense Department Undersecretary for Policy Elbridge Colby said ahead of a NATO defense ministers' meeting on Thursday.
He said the United States advocates that Europe lead NATO's conventional defense, adding that this is really a return to a serious alliance focused on defense and deterrence.
"Now is the time to march out together, to be pragmatic, focus on 'flexible realism' grounded in the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy," he said. ■
