NATO Military Committee holds virtual meeting

The NATO Military Committee convened on 14 May against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The committee received an update on the ongoing NATO Mission Iraq, which has been reduced as a response to the pandemic although the alliance continues to support Iraqi security forces.

Air Chief Marshal Peach, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said: ‘When the conditions permit, and working with the government of Iraq, we will resume our training efforts as well as increase our activities on the ground.’

A review of NATO commitments in Afghanistan was on the agenda particularly as a result of recent terror attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar.

Despite this, Peach said ‘we have seen, with guarded optimism some encouraging signs in the intra-Afghan negotiations that could lead to a political solution for the people of Afghanistan’.

The final session of the virtual meeting addressed the NATO response to coronavirus; EU Military Committee General Claudio Graziano briefed attendees on resilience and potential lessons to be learned.