NATO says its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg spoke with President-elect Donald Trump for the first time to congratulate the businessman on his election victory.

The military alliance says both leaders agreed during a telephone call on Friday that progress has been made on making sure member countries are sharing the defense burden, but that there is more to do.

NATO became a debated part of the presidential election after Trump suggested that the U.S. might abandon its NATO treaty commitments and pull out of the alliance if other countries don’t contribute more.

The alliance statement says Stoltenberg looks forward to welcoming Trump to Brussels for next year’s NATO summit.

(AP)