NATO should strengthen ties with Asia-Pacific partners as China, Russia get closer: Stoltenberg

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - NATO should strengthen ties with partners from the Asia-Pacific region as China and Russia align closer to each other, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the start of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Stoltenberg highlighted the importance of building partnerships in response to modern security challenges.

The bloc's foreign ministers will hold talks with their counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand during the meeting.

“In times when Russia and China stand closer and closer together, it is even more important that we stand together as NATO allies, but also together with our partners from the Asia-Pacific” region, Stoltenberg said.

For his part, Blinken also reaffirmed the importance of “building new partnerships between NATO and countries from other parts of the world” amid the global challenges.

He also said that he has experienced “a greater convergence” between the US and Europe, and the US and its Asian partners “over the last couple of years” than he had ever seen in his 30 years of experience in diplomacy.