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NATO FMs meet for talks in Latvia

30.11.2021 08:30
Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau is on Tuesday scheduled to join his NATO counterparts for a meeting in Latvia to discuss a range of challenges including a crisis on the alliance's border with Belarus and tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau.Photo: PAP/Mateusz Marek

During their two-day meeting in the Latvian capital Riga, top diplomats from NATO countries plan to talk about security risks from Russia and Belaruspublic broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine and Georgia are expected to join the gathering.

Polish President Andrzej Duda last week proposed increasing NATO's military presence in eastern Europe during a meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Duda said at the time that, amid a growing threat posed by the build-up of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border, such a move would "show all potential aggressors" that "the alliance is ready” and “that we are not only ready to defend NATO countries but also pay attention to the security of our allies outside the alliance, with whom we cooperate, such as Ukraine.”

NATO has called on Russia “to be transparent, reduce tensions and de-escalate."

Poland's Rau last week warned that Russia could be plotting a new attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month that "a rehash" of the 2014 aggression against Ukraine would be "a serious mistake" for Russia.

In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and fomented a separatist conflict in that country's eastern Donbas region, leading to a wave of EU and US sanctions against Moscow and Russian officials.

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Source: IAR