( NATO ) - Ministers of Defence from the 26 NATO countries will look to decisions on missile defence and discuss Afghanistan and Kosovo during a two-day meeting in Brussels, 14-15 June.
They will take stock of progress in Afghanistan, the Alliance's priority mission, and discuss concrete measures to lessen the negative humanitarian impact of some aspects of NATO-led security operations in the country.
"Our opponents do not show any hesitation to slaughter or maim the Afghan people with their indiscriminate attacks - NATO has done, and will continue to do, everything possible to avoid civilian casualties," said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at a high-level conference in Brussels, 8 June.
Russia, Ukraine and Partners
The Ministers will be briefed by the Ukrainian Defence Minister, Anatoliy Grytsenko, on the security sector reform in the country.
They will have their first meeting with the new Russian Minister of Defence, Anatoly Serdyukov, in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council.
Meetings with Ministers of Defence from NATO's Partner countries, including the three new Partnership for Peace members: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, will also be held.