Defense ministers from NATO member states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Monday.
In a statement, the ministry said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar would fly to Brussels to participate in the meetings and hold bilateral talks with his counterparts.
Separately, Akar’s American counterpart Lloyd Austin added a stop in Bulgaria to his trip to Europe this week that will be focused on bolstering NATO allies as war rages on its eastern borders, the Pentagon said Monday.
Austin leaves on Tuesday for Brussels, where he will attend the NATO meeting before traveling to Slovakia, the Pentagon said.
In Bulgaria, Austin will meet military and civilian leaders, it said, without giving further details on his agenda.
Bulgaria, Moscow’s closest ally during the Cold War, is now a European Union and NATO member state that has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
