The North Atlantic Council is convening in extraordinary session at the request of Denmark, Germany, France and the United Kingdom under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty.
Moment · 19 January 2026, 14:00
The walkout
Twenty minutes into an Article 4 session the shouting starts. When France and Britain call a vote on mutual defence solidarity, the American delegation collects its binders and leaves thirty-one ambassadors sitting in silence.
The American delegation has left the chamber.
Not adjourned. Left. Picked up their binders and walked out while the vote was being called. Thirty-one ambassadors are still sitting in there.
I have covered this building for nine years. I have watched every kind of disagreement in it.
A diplomat who came out said one sentence to me and went back in: "That was the end of it."
We left the room. Thirty-one countries wanted to vote on what America is allowed to do in America's own hemisphere.
You don't get a vote on us. That was never the deal. A lot of people are finding that out this week.
I have spoken this afternoon with Washington, Copenhagen, Berlin, Brussels and London. The Alliance remains in session. Consultation is not optional between allies and it does not end because one chair is empty.