Blinken heads to Europe for NATO, trade meetings

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Germany on Saturday for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on their response to the war in Ukraine, the State Department said on Thursday.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last month invited the ministers to an unofficial meeting in Berlin. The meeting comes as Finland, worried by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, moves to join NATO.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said any accession process would be “smooth and swift” and that Finland would be warmly welcomed.

On Sunday, May 15, Blinken will travel to Paris with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo for the second ministers’ meeting of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council.

Read more:

UN to set up inquiry into possible Russian war crimes in Ukraine

US lawmakers vow ‘swift consideration’ for Finland, Sweden into NATO

Sanctions hurting west more than Russia, Putin says