NATO foreign ministers to meet in Norway this May for informal discussions

Norway will host the next informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, said an official statement on Wednesday.

The extraordinary meeting will be held in the capital Oslo from May 31 to June 1, with the announcement coinciding with Germany's landmark announcement that it would send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine.

"I am grateful for Norway's offer, and I look forward to meeting with NATO foreign ministers in my home city," Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, said in a statement.

"This will be an important opportunity for ministers to address the fundamentally changed security situation due to Russia's brutal war in Ukraine, and our unwavering support for the Ukrainian people so that they can prevail."

The foreign ministers will hold informal discussions to prepare for a meeting of NATO heads of state and government to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12.

Norway is situated next to Sweden and Finland, its Nordic neighbors that changed course and decided to seek NATO membership after the beginning of the Russia's war on Ukraine. The small Baltic nation of Lithuania is also located along the border with its giant neighbor Russia.

NATO leaders previously vowed to boost political consultations among its members, including through informal meetings of foreign ministers.

The first such meeting was organized by Germany last May in Berlin.