BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday discussed developments in situations in Afghanistan and Eastern Mediterranean, and the relations with Russia during their video conference.
"NATO supports the Afghan peace process. And as part of that, we have adjusted our presence. While United States has decided to further reduce its troop numbers to 2,500, NATO's training mission continues," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told an online press conference this evening after opening the two-day meeting.
"As we continue to assess the situation in Afghanistan, it is clear that we will face a turning point early next year. We will have to take some hard decisions when NATO defence ministers meet next February," he said.
Stoltenberg said the ministers also addressed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"Working together here at NATO, we recently developed a military de-confliction mechanism between Greece and Turkey. A hotline between the two Allies. And the cancellation of specific military exercises," he said.
The NATO chief said he is committed to strengthening this mechanism further to build more comprehensive confidence-building measures between Greece and Turkey.
The ministers also discussed Russia's "continued military build-up in our neighbourhood, as well as arms control.
"We see Russia violating and undermining treaties and deploying new weapons," he said.
"We are adapting NATO's deterrence posture to address Russia's destabilising actions. At the same time, we all agree that we must continue to pursue dialogue with Russia," he said.
Today's meeting also discussed the NATO 2030 project on how to make the strong Alliance even stronger, he added. (end) nk.gb