This year's second regular meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the format of foreign ministers in Brussels was the first opportunity to prepare the content of the annual NATO summit to be held in Washington next July. In this context, ministers focused in particular on support for Ukraine and Russia's hostile activities in its wider neighbourhood and related hybrid threats. At the same time, the Allies reaffirmed their determination to deliver on the renewed commitment to defence spending. Looking ahead to the summit, ministers also discussed the topic of China's global ambitions. "I appreciate the timely start of the discussion on the expected outcomes of the annual summit in Washington. We live in very difficult time geopolitically and it is therefore imperative to negotiate the strongest and most unified outcomes at the summit. The unity of our Alliance vis-a-vis the outside world is absolutely crucial," said Minister Lipavský.

A meeting on the Western Balkans region was also held in the presence of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. "I welcome the fact that the Western Balkans region was not forgotten in the meeting. I am convinced that its natural future lies in the EU and Euro-Atlantic structures. Although the main efforts to join these structures must come from the region itself, the whole process will not be possible without our significant assistance," Lipavský added.

The last item on the agenda was the first-ever NATO-Ukraine Council meeting at the level of foreign ministers, where the allies expressed their full support to Ukraine, which they intend to provide for as long as necessary. The outcome of the NATO-Ukraine Council is a joint statement.

On the sidelines of the two-day ministerial meeting, Minister Lipavský also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Iceland, Montenegro, Albania and Luxembourg, in the light of the coordination of mutual positions on the current security situation.