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NATO FMs to prepare for summit

BRUSSELS, March 29 (KUNA) -- NATO Foreign Ministers will be meeting at the organization's headquarters on Friday. The meeting was originally scheduled for April 5-6. According to media reports the twp-day meeting was rescheduled so that US secretary of state Rex Tillerson can participate. Tillerson had earlier said that he would not be able to attend the NATO ministerial because of his visit to Moscow.
Observers said no US Secretary of State has missed a NATO ministerial for at least the last 14 years and the absence of Tillerson would have been quite embarrassing for the Alliance.
Although NATO has not released as yet an official agenda of the one-day ministerial meeting, analysts opine that it will be dominated by the preparation for the NATO summit on May 25 in which US President Donald Trump is expected to participate.
The summit will also coincide with the opening of the new NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Other issues expected to be discussed on Friday include defence spending, counter-terrorism and the fight against the so-called Islamic State , and NATO-Russia ties .
The new US administration has been calling on the 28 members of the Alliance to increase their defence spending.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in February warned that American support for NATO could depend on whether other NATO members meet their own spending commitments.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called for an NATO-Russia Council, at ambassadorial level to be held on Thursday tomorrow at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The Alliance has stepped up its military presence in Eastern Europe in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea and its interference in Eastern Ukraine. The Russian role in the Syrian conflict has further exacerbated tensions between Moscow and NATO. (end) nk.gta