LOC17:14
14:14 GMT
NATO Secretary General meets new German defence minister
BRUSSELS, July 31 (KUNA) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Wednesday said NATO member states are concerned about the situation in the Arab Gulf and about Iran's behavior in the region.
"NATO allies are concerned about the situation in the Gulf and freedom of navigation is of great importance for all NATO allies and several NATO allies already have assets in the Gulf, but there has been no request for a NATO mission in the Gulf," he told journalists.
His statement came ahead of a meeting with the new German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to be held at his residence in Brussels this afternoon.
Stoltenberg said, "NATO allies also share the concerns about the activities of Iran in the region, destabilizing activities, support for different terrorist groups, Iran's missile program and the fact that they resumed enrichment of uranium."
"So we continue to follow the situation very closely. We exchange intelligence, information about the situation," he said and noted that NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels discussed the American imitative in June where touched on the possibility of NATO members contributing assets but not as part of a NATO mission.
On her part, Kramp-Karrenbauer said the situation in Iran and in Hormuz is very sensitive.
She said that Germany together with France and the UK in the past as well as now continue to work for a diplomatic solution with Iran and noted that they want the Iran nuclear deal be preserved and if possible improved.
On the US maritime initiative, she said Germany is considering it in close coordination with France and the UK.
"We as Europeans from the beginning had a different opinion than the American side which will also be taken into consideration," she added.
Stoltenberg said Germany has been a staunch supporter of NATO for many, many years and noted that Germany is one of the lead nations in Afghanistan and also in many other NATO-led operations.
On her part, the German minister said that NATO is the anchor for Europe's security and added "we are proud as Germany that we are an important part of NATO." (end)
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