Stoltenberg And Blinken Speak At NATO Ministerial

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have delivered very short remarks following today's meeting of NATO ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels.

• Stoltenberg: 'The US leadership has been outstanding and indispensable.'
• Stoltenberg says that tomorrow's meetings will see close collaboration with Asia-Pacific partners: Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia.
• Comes as NATO and the US have announced greater military collaboration with Asia-Pacific partners under the auspices of AUKUS to combat China.
• Blinken says at the outset of the war: 'We set out to do three things. 1. To support Ukraine. 2. To put immense pressure on Russia, and 3. shore up NATO.'
• Blinken: 'Tomorrow we will talk about how we can sustain and build upon these efforts. This is a period of tremendous importance for our alliance.'
• Blinken says the strategic partnership will be discussed leading up to the next NATO summit.
• Next: 12:30 ET 17:30 BST 18:30 CET: 'Working dinner of the NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs.'