Sputnik goes live from Brussels, Belgium, where NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is holding a pre-ministerial meeting press conference. The event is scheduled days ahead of the meeting of the NATO Defence Ministers, which will be held via videoconference on 17-18 February.
Previously media reported that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is going to address the alliance during the ministerial meeting and reaffirm Washington’s commitment to NATO. This will mark a significant reverse of US foreign policy after former president Donald Trump’s attempt to reduce the US financial contribution to NATO and threats to withdraw US troops from the block’s most populous European nation, Germany.
In early February, US President Joe Biden froze Trump's plans to withdraw 12,000 US troops from Germany, thus setting the stage for a further cooperation with the alliance.
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