Washington, Oct 6 (IANS) President Donald Trump's national security team is conducting strategic planning that extends as far as five to 10 years into the future, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, describing a weekend meeting at Camp David as part of the administration's longer-term approach to global challenges.

Rubio said the meeting brought national security officials together in a setting with fewer distractions and was not centred solely on immediate crises confronting the administration.

"We constantly are meeting for long-term strategic planning and things of this nature," Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews when asked about the Camp David meeting on Friday.

"It's not unusual for us as a team to get together," he said.

Rubio did not identify the specific issues discussed at Camp David or disclose who participated in the meeting.

He said such sessions were part of the role played by the National Security Council in bringing together officials responsible for different areas of US national security policy.

"That was just an opportunity to do it in a setting where there were less distractions, but we're constantly – that's just part of the role the National Security Council plays," Rubio said.

The secretary offered an unusually broad description of the time horizon involved in the administration's strategic discussions.

He said the NSC brings stakeholders together "to sort of do long-term planning – six months, nine months, but in many cases five or 10 years down the road."

Rubio cautioned against characterising the Camp David session simply as routine, given the scope of the issues involved.

"I wouldn't call it routine because the topics being discussed are global by nature, but they are long-term in thinking," he said.

Rubio said the administration had held similar meetings previously and that the latest session differed principally because it took place at the presidential retreat.

"We've had many meetings like that before. This one just happened to be in Camp David," he said.

The secretary did not elaborate on what he meant by topics that were "global by nature."

His comments came during a press interaction covering several immediate national security challenges, including Russia and Ukraine, fighting involving the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, a suspected plague case in Russia and the security of US military installations in Britain.

Rubio was speaking before departing on a trip that includes Iceland, Portugal and Greece, three NATO members.

Asked about the European visit, Rubio described Iceland as a good friend of the United States and said the stop followed conversations with Icelandic leaders during the NATO summit earlier this year.

He called Portugal a strong ally and described Greece as "a very important US ally," citing both the American military presence and strong economic ties.

The National Security Council is the principal White House mechanism for coordinating national security and foreign policy across the US government. It brings together the president and senior officials responsible for diplomacy, defence, intelligence and other national security matters.

Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, has frequently been used by US presidents for high-level national security discussions, diplomatic meetings and strategic planning away from the day-to-day activity of the White House.

--IANS

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