NATO DMs to discuss Gulf situation

BRUSSELS, June 25 (KUNA) -- NATO defence ministers are to discuss the current situation in Gulf and the US-Iran tensions during their two-day meeting in Brussels which starts on Wednesday.
"We are concerned about the situation in the Gulf and we are concerned about Iran's destabilising activities in the region and its support for terrorist groups," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels today ahead of the NATO Defence Ministers meeting.
"Even though Iran is not formally on the agenda, I expect that Iran will be discussed both in the (Defence Ministers) meeting and in different bilateral meetings," he noted.
The NATO chief said he also expected that acting US defence secretary Mark Esper wil brief the allies on the challenges in the Gulf region.
Stoltenberg said NATO as an alliance is not directly involved in the current situation in the Gulf but some NATO allies are, and added that we share intelligence on the Gulf.
"The important thing now is to reduce tensions," he said and welcomed the US offer for talks with Iran to avoid any miscalculations and create dangerous situations.
NATO will host a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on the sidelines of the ministerial on Thursday.
"The Coalition has made remarkable progress. Retaking all the territory once held by ISIS terrorists. Now we must ensure that they do not come back. This is why NATO's training mission in Iraq is so important. And why we will continue our efforts together with Allies and partners in the Global Coalition," he said.
Afghanistan will also be an important point on the defence ministerial agenda.
With a meeting of all nations contributing to our training mission, he said.
"While the security situation remains serious, we see a unique opportunity for peace. Allies fully support U.S. efforts to reach a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan," said the NATO chief.
The defence ministers will also address "Russia's continuing violation of the INF Treaty. Russia has until 2 August to verifiably destroy its SSC-8 missiles, which violate the Treaty.
"The United States and other Allies have tried to engage with Russia about their new missile system for years, including in the NATO-Russia Council," he said.
Stoltenberg said NATO Defence Ministers will take decisions to continue modernising the 29-member Alliance.
"Today, we are releasing for the first time figures for 2019 defence spending.
And I can announce that the real increase for 2019 is 3.9 percent across European Allies and Canada," he added. (end) nk.mt