The Latest: Bolton says US not isolationist
By Associated Press
Nov 9, 2018 10:26 AM CST
British Prime Minister Theresa May, second right, and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, right, prepare to lay wreaths at the graves of British World War I soldiers John Parr and George Ellison at the St. Symphorien cemetery in Mons, Belgium, Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. (Benoit Doppagne, Pool Photo via...   (Associated Press)

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on events marking the centennial of Armistice Day (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton is countering the notion that the United States is isolationist, saying that Trump's participation in international celebrations marking the end of World War I shows "his commitment to a common defense."

Bolton said Friday in Paris that throughout U.S. history, "we were never isolationist," just not always focused on Europe.

Trump has alienated some European allies, notably by pulling out of agreements such as the Iranian nuclear accord and Paris climate agreement.

Asked about the U.S. decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Bolton said the treaty has been subsumed by technological advances since it was signed in the 1980s. He reiterated that Russia is in violation of the treaty, which Moscow denies.

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1:20 p.m.

As world leaders prepare to mark 100 years since the armistice that ended World War I, British Prime Minister Theresa May has paid respects to the first and last British soldier killed in the fighting.

At a ceremony at the Saint Symphorien cemetery in Mons, Belgium, May lay wreaths at two graves. One holds the remains of Pvt. John Parr, killed Aug. 21, 1914 in the woods south of Brussels at age 17.

The other, nearby, is the grave of Pvt. George Ellison, who survived some of the war's worst battles but was shot and killed in a Belgian pasture on Nov. 11, 1918 — the war's last day.

May is among some 60 world leaders marking the anniversary of the Nov. 11, 1918 armistice at multiple events.

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10:15 a.m.

Paris, the City of Light, always was the grandest prize of World War I, either to conquer or defend.

So it is only fitting that when victors and vanquished meet to mark the centennial of the armistice this weekend, the biggest ceremony should be on the famed Champs-Elysees at the Arc de Triomphe.

About 60 leaders will mark the cease-fire that came on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

U.S. President Donald Trump will be among those who join his French counterpart and host, Emmanuel Macron, and others to remember the millions who died during the first global conflict.

Carrying the heritage of defeated Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel will be visiting the site in the woods north of Paris where military leaders in a train carriage agreed to the armistice.

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