The foreign ministers of NATO countries will convene at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on April 3-4, according to a Wednesday announcement from NATO’s press service.
The meeting will be led by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
This will mark the first gathering of NATO foreign ministers since the change of leadership in the United States, with the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, expected to attend.
The session will occur in advance of the NATO summit, set for the end of June in The Hague, Netherlands.
The timing of the meeting comes amid President Donald Trump’s calls for European allies to ramp up defense spending to 5% of their GDP – a figure that the U.S. itself does not allocate for its own defense.
Following Trump’s return to the White House, concerns have escalated among allies regarding a potential U.S. exit from NATO. Recently, Trump’s nominee for NATO ambassador vowed to “strengthen” the Alliance.
Meanwhile, a former NATO commander expressed that Europe must be ready for the possibility of the U.S. leaving the Alliance.
