The leaders of 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries will meet on Thursday to discuss the situation after Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its long-term stance in Eastern Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will also attend the NATO Leaders’ Summit, which will be held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

It is expected that President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky will make a speech by connecting to the meeting by teleconference and demand a no-fly zone by procuring air defense systems from NATO.

At the summit meeting of extraordinary quality, the leaders’ agenda includes the developments after Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

In his statement announcing the summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We will discuss the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and the further strengthening of NATO’s deterrence and defense in the face of the new reality in our security.”

Since November 2021, NATO had reacted to Russia’s military build-up on the Ukrainian border and started to increase its presence in eastern Europe. These moves accelerated after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine on February 24.

In particular, reinforcements were made to the multinational combat units in the Baltic states and Poland. A large number of warplanes and warships were also sent to the region. Troops were also deployed in Romania, where NATO did not have a combat unit before.

According to the information Stoltenberg gave two weeks ago, within the framework of the measures taken against Russia, NATO’s 130 jets in high readiness, 200 ships from the far north to the Mediterranean, and thousands of additional soldiers are in and near eastern Europe.

NATO had mobilized the Response Force for the first time in its history after the tension with Russia.

Finally, at the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting held on March 16, the alliance’s long-term positioning in eastern Europe was discussed. (PNA)