NATO chief rules out system for expelling members

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says there’s little chance the military organization would ever introduce a system for expelling anyone among its ranks. That’s despite the fact that tensions are quietly simmering between a number of the 30 member countries. Stoltenberg says he doesn’t plan to recommend such a system and that anyway “it would never happen, because we need consensus to do that.” His remarks came Tuesday ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Latvian capital, Riga. The ministers will discuss Stoltenberg’s proposals for revising NATO’s “Strategic Concept,” which is essentially the organization’s mission statement. NATO leaders are set to endorse a final text when they meet in Madrid on June 29-30.