News

On the first day of the meeting on 3 December in Brussels, NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs discussed the agenda of the Summit to be held in 2014 and prospects for NATO’s partnership policy. At the NATO Foreign Ministerial, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Andrius Krivas stressed that the transatlantic relationship and collective defence remained key priorities for the Alliance.

“We have to adopt a transatlantic declaration at the next year’s Summit, which would focus on our commitment to collective defence, preparations to face rising security challenges, and maintenance of a strong relationship with the Alliance’s major partners,” A.Krivas said.

The Foreign Ministers stressed the importance of NATO’s future mission in Afghanistan. The signing of a bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan is a necessary condition for a potential post-2014 presence of allies and partners in Afghanistan.

NATO Foreign Ministers issued a statement on Ukraine. The allies condemned the use of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators in Ukraine and urged the government to fully abide by its international commitments and to uphold the freedom of expression and assembly.

At the working dinner, the Foreign Ministers discussed prospects for NATO’s open door policy, which should be on the Summit agenda in 2014.

The meeting is attended by the 28 Foreign Ministers from the Alliance. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also took part in the discussion on NATO’s partnership policy.