Welcome
NATO and G7 meeting in Brussels: a strong message of unity
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is travelling to Brussels, © Xander Heinl/photothek.de
Foreign Minister Baerbock is visiting Brussels today and tomorrow. She will participate in NATO’s spring meeting of Foreign Ministers and convene a G7 meeting. The focus of deliberations will be Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the future strategic orientation of NATO.
New Strategic Concept and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine at the top of the agenda
The ministers will discuss NATO’s New Strategic Concept, which is to be adopted at the summit meeting in June. The Strategic Concept is an important policy document for the Alliance. It needs to be brought up to date, because the security environment has changed significantly since the current Strategic Concept was adopted in 2010. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the immediate vicinity of Allied territory and the aggressive conduct of the Russian Government towards NATO have underscored this very clearly once again. Two weeks ago, Foreign Minister Baerbock gave the go-ahead for the drafting of a National Security Strategy for Germany. This process is closely linked to the NATO Strategic Concept as well as to the EU’s recently adopted Strategic Compass.
At the working sessions, the focus will also be on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition, the NATO members will deliberate on the global impact of the Russian invasion with the closest partners of NATO that are not part of the Alliance.
Meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers convened by Foreign Minister Baerbock
On the fringes of the NATO meeting, Foreign Minister Baerbock will invite the G7 Foreign Ministers to a working session in her role as chair of the G7. Key issues include the current situation in Ukraine, further sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine’s defence capability as well as the coordination of humanitarian assistance, the accommodation of refugees and global food security.
A series of NATO meetings in early 2022
NATO’s spring meeting follows on from a series of meetings of NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers and the NATO Heads of State and Government arranged at short notice in February and March in response to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. As things currently stand, the Foreign Ministers Meeting will be the last formal gathering of the Foreign Ministers before the NATO summit in Madrid on 29 and 30 June.