NATO Defence Ministers will discuss the Alliance’s training mission in Iraq on Wednesday 12 February at their ministerial meeting in Brussels.
“Ministers will discuss the future of our mission in Iraq, which trains and advises Iraqi armed forces to help ensure that the Islamic State cannot return”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference. According to him, that the Allies will in particular discuss how the Alliance can coordinate even more closely with the global coalition against Daesh.
“Training local forces is one of our best tools in the fight against terrorism. And NATO has proven structures and procedures that add value. They ensure political consultation, transparency and oversight, as well as force generation”, argued Mr Stoltenberg.
NATO could play a greater role in training, with a transfer of personnel from the global coalition. A burden-sharing that could satisfy the American President, according to his ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, while Donald Trump has called for greater Alliance action in the Middle East.
While NATO mission personnel are still on the ground, the training of Iraqi forces is currently suspended for security reasons (see EUROPE 12397/1). Mr Stoltenberg hoped that training would resume “as soon as possible”.
While the Iraqi Parliament had requested the departure of foreign troops, the Secretary General recalled that NATO respected “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq fully” and was in close consultation with the new Iraqi Government (see EUROPE 12418/24).
At a dinner, the ministers will discuss cooperation between NATO and the EU with their Finnish and Swedish counterparts and with Josep Borrell, who is attending for the first time as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
On Thursday 13 February, Ministers will discuss the Alliance’s response to the challenge posed by Russia’s new missile systems following the end of the INF Treaty. “We will discuss our response to the full range of Russian missile systems, conventional and nuclear, currently deployed or under development”, the Secretary-General said, without giving further details.
Allies will also meet with their Ukrainian counterparts to discuss the country’s reforms and NATO support.
The Ministerial meeting will conclude with a meeting with the 38 nations contributing to the Alliance’s training mission in Afghanistan. “Our mission makes the difference. Despite the difficult circumstances, Afghanistan’s courageous security forces are growing stronger and helping to create the conditions for peace”, Mr Stoltenberg said, adding that allies “are consulting closely on the way forward”. According to him, the ministers will discuss how the mission can best support the peace process.
On the other hand, if Syria is not officially on the ministerial agenda, the situation in Idlib could be discussed.
In the margins of the ministerial session, representatives of France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the provision of critical satellite communications services to NATO. For their part, the Swedish and Czech Ministers will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Tactically Decisive Land/Precision Guided Munitions. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)