Blinken to huddle with NATO allies on ‘brutal’ Russian war against Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Europe this week to meet with the foreign ministers of NATO about the alliance’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Blinken will travel to Berlin on May 14 for an informal meeting with the foreign ministers of NATO states, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Thursday. The secretary will also attend the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council in Paris on May 15. 

The NATO meeting with foreign ministers comes ahead of a leaders-level meeting to take place in Madrid in June.  

“Allies and partners will discuss their unified response to Russia’s continuing brutal war against Ukraine,” Price said in the statement. “Allies will also adopt a new NATO Strategic Concept to guide the Alliance’s work over the next decade.”

The NATO gathering is taking place as Finland has expressed a commitment to apply to join the alliance, and Sweden is likely to follow. The Russian foreign ministry reportedly said on Thursday it viewed Finland’s move to join the alliance as hostile and a threat to Moscow’s security. 

The meeting also comes as the Biden administration is working to commit nearly $40 billion in new assistance for Ukraine, most of that military aid, as Kyiv’s forces have begun to launch counteroffensives to push Russian forces out of the south and east of the country.