Foreign ministers of NATO member states gathered Friday in their Brussels headquarters to discuss issues including the situation in Afghanistan, the contentious issue of Kosovo, and the consequences of Russia's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
The meeting was the last NATO gathering before the Russian law on the suspension of the CFE treaty takes effect on Dec. 12.
During the meeting, the NATO ministers are expected to express unity on the issue of Kosovo, which is seeking independence from Serbia.
The mediating troika of the European Union (EU), Russia and the United States will by Dec. 10 report to the U.N. Secretary General on the progress concerning the negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo over the latter's final status.
The ministers are also expected to confirm that the 26-member military alliance will keep its 16,000 troops in the breakaway Serb province even if no deal is struck on the issue before Dec. 10.
Moreover, they will exchange views on the enlargement process of NATO and other topics relevant to the agenda of the bloc's 2008 Bucharest summit.
Albania, Croatia and Macedonia are on the list of candidates to join NATO, but it remains unclear which will receive an invitation from the bloc at the summit.
The meeting, starting Friday morning, will be followed by a session of the NATO-Russia Council, when the NATO ministers will discuss with their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov issues of the CFE treaty and Kosovo's status, whose independence is firmly opposed by Russia.
The session will discuss such issues as anti-terrorism and cooperative projects under the council framework, including the Pilot Project on Counter-Narcotics Training of Afghan and Central Asian Personnel and the Russian participation in the naval counter-terrorism Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea.
The NATO ministers will also attend a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission along with a government member of Ukraine. At the meeting they will assess the progress of NATO-Ukraine cooperation, and discuss issues related to the Intensified Dialogue on Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations and associated reforms.
Source: Xinhua
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