Turkish foreign minister attends NATO meeting ahead of leaders' summit

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign minister on Tuesday attended a virtual NATO foreign ministers meeting that discussed the military bloc's upcoming summit.

"At NATO Foreign Ministers VTC Meeting discussed preparations for the NATO Summit to be held this month," said Mevlut Cavusoglu on Twitter.

"Emphasized our views regarding NATO 2030 Decisions, which will strengthen the Alliance's role," he added.

The meeting also addressed developments related to security of the Euro-Atlantic region and other issues on NATO's agenda, according to diplomatic sources.

Cavusoglu conveyed Turkey's support to the NATO secretary-general's efforts on NATO 2030 decisions planned to be taken at the summit, the sources said.

The Turkish diplomat said the resolutions will validate and further strengthen the alliance and transatlantic ties in today's strategic environment, they added.

The sources said that Turkey also extended support to NATO's role in Afghanistan's future. Foreign troops under NATO command have decided to withdraw from the war-torn country in coordination with a US pull-out by Sept. 11.

NATO heads of states and governments are expected to adopt the NATO 2030 agenda during their forthcoming gathering in Brussels on June 14.

The NATO 2030 strategy will extend the concept of security "to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow" such as terrorism, cyberattacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, and climate change.