Financial Times: May to stress importance of NATO, EU with Trump

London (dpa) - British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will stress the importance of NATO and the European Union when her first meeting with new US President Donald Trump takes place, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.Despite Trump suggesting before his inauguration that NATO was no longer useful, May told the newspaper she believes he "recognizes the importance and significance of NATO.""I‘m also confident the USA will recognize the importance of the cooperation we have in Europe to ensure our collective defence and collective security," she said.May said Britain‘s Brexit decision "was not a decision about breaking up the EU.""I want the EU to continue to be strong and I want to continue to have a close and strategic partnership with the EU," she said. "With the threats we face it‘s not the time for less cooperation."The newspaper said May declined to comment on speculation that she could meet Trump in Washington "within days."It said she planned to be "very frank" in discussions with Trump and aimed to build a "very special relationship" between the two governments.May said she hoped the two sides would be able to prepare the ground for a bilateral trade deal before Britain formally leaves the EU.Asked about potential difficulties in working with Trump after he was accused of a series of sexist and racist remarks during his election campaign, May said she had been "clear about those areas where I feel some of the comments he has made were unacceptable.""He has apologized for those comments," she said.