Northeastern Syria dominates NATO meeting

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - NATO defense ministers discussed on Thursday wide range of issues, including the situation in northeastern Syria, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

"There are different views among allies, and we had a frank and open discussion but we focused on the way forward," Stoltenberg told reporters after the first day of meeting in Brussels.

Stoltenberg said "significant" reductions in violence have been seen in northern Syria over the last week.

"We agree we must build on this to make progress in our efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria and we fully support UN-led efforts to reach a political solution," he added.

- Sideline meetings

On the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met with British Security Minister Ben Wallace. The ministers discussed security, bilateral relations, and defense industry cooperation.

Akar also met his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. They exchanged views on defense and security.

The defense ministers meeting will end on Friday.