Obama leaves for NATO summit, visit to Spain

President Barack Obama left Thursday to take part in a NATO summit in Poland, amid tensions with Russia and in the wake of Britain’s stunning decision to quit the EU.

Obama will be participating in his fifth and last summit of the world’s mightiest military alliance. After that meeting, he will make his first official visit to Spain.

On Friday in Warsaw, Obama will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU President Donald Tusk.

“This will be a very timely opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Brexit vote and our continued, very strong support for the European project,” said Ben Rhodes, a senior adviser to Obama.

Obama will also hold bilateral meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Before leaving for the summit, Obama announced Wednesday that 8,400 US soldiers will remain in Afghanistan until 2017, slowing down the timetable for the US withdrawal after nearly 15 years of war.

Stoltenberg hailed this news as a strong sign of NATO’s commitment to fighting the Taliban.

Obama will hold a press conference Saturday after the summit in Poland.

In Spain, he will confer with King Felipe, outgoing prime minister Mariano Rajoy and other politicians.

Rajoy’s conservative party won the most votes in June 26 elections held after a previous election in December failed to produce a government. Rajoy is now in talks again in an effort to form a coalition.

“Recognizing that we’re in a fluid political moment in Spain as they are sorting through the aftermath of their election, we want to make sure that we are interacting with all of Spain’s major political parties,” Rhodes said.

Obama will also meet with Spanish youths in a townhall format that he often uses while traveling abroad.