NATO Foreign Ministers Meet on Heels of Military Committee Discussions
By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity
BRUSSELS, May 18, 2016 – Montenegro will be invited to join the NATO alliance during the Foreign Ministers Meeting and will become the 29th member of the alliance if all members approve, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said here today.
Alliance foreign ministers will meet here almost immediately after the Military Committee Meeting concludes. Stoltenberg gave a preview of what the foreign ministers will consider as the alliance looks forward to the Warsaw Summit in July.
Building Stability, Security
The fact that Montenegro is joining the alliance is "a clear sign that NATO continues to help build stability and security in the Western Balkans," the secretary general said.
The foreign ministers will also discuss Iraq. "We will discuss what more NATO can do to support Iraq," he said.
The alliance is training hundreds of Iraqi officers in Jordan and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has requested the alliance expand the efforts into Iraq proper. "We will consider this request from Prime Minister al-Abadi," Stoltenberg said.
The foreign ministers will discuss NATO operations in the Aegean Sea, Stoltenberg said. "We are making a real difference, as part of the broader international efforts," he said. "Figures from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees indicate that the average daily arrivals in April were down around 90 percent from the month before. And we will explore what more the alliance could do in the central Mediterranean, in cooperation with the European Union."
Russia, of course, will be a topic of discussion, Stoltenberg said. The alliance, he said, combines strong defense and deterrence with dialogue.
"We have already decided to enhance our forward presence in the eastern part of our alliance," Stoltenberg said. "Our military planners have put forward proposals for several battalions in different countries in the region. No decision has been taken on the numbers and locations."
The alliance will consider the scale and scope of presence in the east, he said.
'NATO is a Defensive Alliance'
"NATO is a defensive alliance, and we will do what it takes to defend our citizens, in a responsible and proportionate manner, and in accordance with our international obligations," Stoltenberg said.
The alliance is seeking more transparency in its relationship with Russia to reduce the risks of incidents or accidents spiraling out of control," he said. "NATO does not seek confrontation. It is in everyone's interest to avoid a new arms race," Stoltenberg said.
The foreign ministers will also discuss NATO-European Union cooperation, he said. "NATO and the EU face unprecedented security challenges," the secretary general said. "To address them, we are working closer together than ever before. But we need to do more. We will discuss how to take our cooperation with the EU to a new level at the Warsaw Summit."
NATO and the EU could pledge to work even more closely together to combat hybrid threats, maritime and cyber cooperation and on other areas, Stoltenberg said. The two groups could also develop playbooks for dealing with a range of hybrid warfare scenarios, to help speed up decision making and clarify in advance who does what, he said.
There may be linked NATO-EU exercises to test reactions to an emerging hybrid threat, the secretary general said.
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