ANKARA
NATO foreign ministers are preparing to meet in Turkey's southern province of Antalya for a two-day session focusing on Afghanistan, Ukraine and strengthening NATO relationships.
The two-day meeting beginning on Wednesday will start with a session focusing on the NATO Resolute Support Mission based in Afghanistan, the first such meeting ever to be attended by foreign ministers.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday: "The fact Turkey is hosting this years' NATO Foreign Ministers meeting shows the importance it attaches to the alliance's solidarity and collective defense during this international security situation that we are in."
The NATO-RSM session is to be attended by foreign ministers from 28 NATO member states including Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Sweden, Montenegro, Mongolia, Ukraine, New Zealand, Japan and Jordan.
The first day will also see a session devoted to developments in Ukraine, after which a communique will be published, the ministry added.
On Thursday, the 28 member countries will discuss preparations for NATO's upcoming 2016 Warsaw Summit.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will address the press in Antalya on Tuesday night after holding bilateral talks with Canadian Foreign Minister Robert Douglas, Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Cavusoglu will also attend a working dinner with foreign ministers from the Visegrad group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said on Monday the meeting in Antalya was taking place "during a very busy time for NATO because, right now, troops from across the Alliance are exercising together, making sure that our collective defense is strong and ready".
Stoltenberg said: "We will keep NATO strong and we will help keep our neighborhood stable. Because if our neighborhood is stable we will be more secure.
"So when Foreign Ministers meet in Turkey we will also discuss what more we can do with our partners and for our partners."
