Brexit Will Not Effect NATO Summit: US' Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the UK's vote to leave the EU will not have an effect on a NATO summit that will be held next month in Poland.



In a statement before meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Kerry said he predicted "an even stronger NATO going forward" after the so-called Brexit vote.



"That will not change one iota as a consequence of the vote that has taken place" Kerry said.



"We have high expectations of a very strong NATO meeting and important deliverables," he said, referring to upcoming NATO summit on July 8-9 in Warsaw.



UK citizens voted to leave the EU in an historic referendum last Thursday, where almost 52 percent of voters rejected their country's 43-year EU membership.



Stoltenberg said cooperation between NATO and the EU has played an important role; however, it will have more importance following Britons' decision to leave the 28-nation bloc.



"After the UK decided to leave the European Union I think that NATO has become even more important as a platform for cooperation between Europe and North America but also defense and security cooperation between European NATO allies," Stoltenberg said.



*Anadolu Agency correspondent Emin Avundukluoglu contributed to this report from Ankara -