Group of NATO leaders meet in The Hague to discuss Ukraine

By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and a small group of leaders from alliance countries are meeting in the Netherlands to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and to prepare for a summit in Spain later this month. The informal gathering is being held Tuesday evening at Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s official residence at The Hague. It’s being co-hosted by Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen. The other leaders attending are Romania’s president along with the prime ministers of Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Latvia. The talks will likely also address applications by Sweden and Finland to join the alliance. Both countries applied in May to join NATO after decades of military non-alignment. That changed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.