Today's Edition
BRUSSELS (ALETIHAD)
Foreign ministers from NATO member states will gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day meeting expected to focus on sustaining military aid for Ukraine, deepening ties with Indo-Pacific partners, and strengthening NATO-EU cooperation.
The sessions at NATO headquarters come as allies prepare for the upcoming summit in The Hague in June, and as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third year. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will chair the meeting, his first in this role at a foreign ministers’ level, and is scheduled to address the media on both days.
The Brussels discussions will also mark the first formal engagement between NATO foreign ministers and the new US administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to take part in the talks, with expectations high over Washington’s stance on long-term transatlantic defence commitments and burden-sharing.
The opening session will bring together all 32 NATO members to discuss core alliance issues, including collective defence, defence spending targets and further support for Kyiv. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Rutte said allies had already pledged over €20 billion in military aid to Ukraine during the first quarter of the year, as Kyiv braces for another summer of fighting.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will join NATO ministers on Thursday for a session of the NATO-Ukraine Council, where discussions will focus on Kyiv’s immediate defence needs and broader diplomatic efforts to end the war. He will be joined by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who returns on Friday for a separate meeting to outline the bloc’s latest defence initiatives and explore ways to deepen NATO-EU cooperation.
Ministers will also meet with counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand for a session on the alliance’s Indo-Pacific partnerships. As tensions simmer in several regions, NATO is looking to expand cooperation beyond the transatlantic space, with talks expected to focus on shared security concerns and ways to strengthen cooperation in the region.
The Brussels meeting is part of NATO’s regular spring ministerial format, but this year’s agenda carries added weight amid persistent tensions with Russia, rising concerns over European defence capabilities, and an evolving global security environment.
