WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Europe Monday for what will likely be the last high-level NATO meeting before the Biden administration leaves office next month.
Strengthening allied support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January will be top of the agenda at NATO foreign ministers’ meetings, according to the State Department in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Blinken will discuss “transatlantic security priorities, including supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russian invasion, deepening cooperation with NATO’s southern partners in the Middle East, North Africa and Sahel regions, and preparing for the upcoming summit in The Hague,” the department said. a statement.
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Outgoing President Joe Biden will not be in power when NATO leaders meet for their next summit in June, but he has stepped up supplies of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine in recent months, as well as restrictions on how Kiev can get them usage relaxed.
Biden’s goal is to put Ukraine in the best possible position to negotiate a solution. That has happened as Moscow has made significant progress in the conflict and North Korean troops have begun assisting Russian forces.
Trump, by contrast, is skeptical of U.S. aid and has suggested his administration will sharply cut or end it. He also appointed former General Keith Kellogg to oversee efforts to mediate an end to the war.
From Brussels, Blinken will travel to Malta, where he will attend a meeting Thursday of foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a group challenged by recent developments in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere.
