The foreign ministers of the Alliance’s member countries will meet in Brussels on Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 November with a full agenda: Middle East, Russia/Ukraine, China, the Western Balkans and Sweden’s accession to the Alliance.
Middle East. The Allies will discuss the situation in the Middle East. Although NATO “has never played an active role in the conflict” in the Middle East, Secretary General Jens Soltenberg pointed out, on Monday 27 November, the Allies are present in the region, notably via the capacity-building mission in Iraq, and are concerned about a possible flare-up. “We have seen drone and rocket strikes on US positions in Syria and Iraq, as well as attacks on commercial shipping. This underlines the risk of escalation. Iran must rein in its proxies”, he warned.
Welcoming the current truce in Gaza, which is due to end on Tuesday, the Secretary General called for it to be extended, which could bring “much-needed relief” to the people of Gaza and free other hostages. “The suffering we have seen underlines the need for a lasting political solution”, he added.
Russia. The ministers will be looking at Russia’s destabilising actions in Ukraine and beyond, including actions to destabilise democracies through cyber attacks, disinformation, energy blackmail and even migration. The situation on the border between Russia and Finland could be addressed as well.
China. The meeting will also focus on the security challenges posed by China. Mr Stoltenberg welcomed the recent discussions between China and the Allies, as the Chinese and US leaders met on 15 November. “China is not an adversary but Beijing’s actions challenge our security, and we must work together to respond”, he stressed.
Western Balkans. In the presence of High Representative of the Union, Josep Borrell, the Allies will discuss the situation in the Western Balkans, including the violence in northern Kosovo, the rhetoric of division and secession in Bosnia-Herzegovina “and the malicious attempts to sow discord, including by Russia”, explained Mr Stoltenberg, who has just returned from a trip to the region.
“With the EU High Representative, we will be discussing ways of strengthening stability in the region “, he said, adding that NATO had already sent 1,000 additional troops to Kosovo and that the Alliance was studying a more sustainable increase in its peacekeeping contingent. Mr Stoltenberg also called on Belgrade and Pristina to resume the Dialogue facilitated by the EU.
Ukraine. Wednesday will see the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at foreign minister level, in the presence of their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
The Allies are expected to reaffirm their long-term support for NATO and will adopt recommendations on Ukraine's priority reforms. “Ukraine is in the middle of a war, full membership (of NATO) is not possible, but we are going to discuss how to bring Ukraine and NATO closer together”, stressed the Secretary General.
According to Mr Stoltenberg, “Ukraine is inflicting major losses on Russia. It has recaptured 50 percent of the territory that Russia had seized. It has prevailed as a sovereign independent nation. This is a big win for Ukraine . He said that, at the same time, Russia was weakening politically, economically and militarily.
Finally, the ministers are expected to discuss Sweden’s NATO membership. Welcoming the start of the accession ratification process by the Turkish Parliament, Mr Stoltenberg explained that he was counting on Turkey and Hungary to complete their ratification as soon as possible. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)