Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
As the second anniversary of the start of the Russian war in Ukraine approaches, NATO defense ministers will hold a meeting next Thursday, preceded by a meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Council, hosted by the United States of America inside NATO headquarters in Brussels, according to what was issued by NATO headquarters. This comes after French Foreign Minister Stephane Ségornet announced In an interview with the newspaper Ouest France, he said that the European Union should invest in defense and produce more weapons against the backdrop of the “Russian threat.”
He answered in the affirmative when asked whether he thought it was possible for Russia to “attack a NATO country,” recalling that France had begun to increase investment in defense.
He continued: "This is an existential issue for the European Union, and our collective security depends on it. In the current geopolitical context, we need military budgets that allow us to respond to the threat, and organize the European Union's defense in a more realistic way. Yes, it is necessary that we increase our efforts."
He pointed out that Europe needs to find "security guarantees", strengthen coordination between armies and gradually achieve more military integration.
He added that the conflict in Ukraine "made possible things that were previously impossible such as joint procurement of missiles, missiles" and so on.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also considered that the alliance must prepare for the possibility of a decades-long confrontation with Russia, indicating at the same time that the alliance is not seeking war with Russia.
The Allied Defense Ministers will meet at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 15 February 2024. The meeting will be chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The Secretary-General will announce the agenda of the ministerial meeting in a press conference on February 14.
The Secretary-General will address the media after the ministerial meeting.
A separate meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, hosted by the United States, is scheduled to be held at NATO headquarters on February 14.