LONDON (CU)_British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will fully support NATO allies to deter the threats from Russia, during his meeting with foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday (24 March).
London views Russia as a changing face of aggression, particularly considering cyber-attacks and cutting-edge technology used by Moscow.
“The UK, as a leading defence and diplomatic power, fully backs NATO as a strong military deterrent to the threats from Russia but also as a strong, united political bulwark against Moscow’s de-stabilising activities,” Raab said ahead of the meeting.
He added that the summit will be an important opportunity for the 30 member states of the Organisation to gather and discuss the value of their alliances at a time when democracies are under threat from “authoritarian powers and non-state actors who use cyber threats and malicious new technology to sabotage the rules-based order”.
The Foreign Secretary will deliver this message during the first in-person gathering of foreign ministers at the NATO headquarters in over a year. Among those attending will be US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who hopes to reset relations within the NATO following years of tension under the Trump administration.
The meeting comes on the heels of the publication of the United Kingdom’s Integrated Review, which identified Russia to be UK’s most acute threat.
During the meeting with his fellow foreign ministers, Raab will say that Moscow’s development of new missiles systems which would evade conventional defences, as well as state-backed cyber-attacks which focus on sensitive data, are used to spread disinformation about the Coronavirus and to interfere in elections.
Apart from customary security matters, the foreign ministers of the 30 member states will also discuss the subject of climate security, particularly the impact of military activities on carbon emissions, and ways to improve climate disaster response capabilities.
