UK, French Foreign Ministers Discuss Alleged Threats Coming From China, Russia

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna have held a meeting in Paris where they discussed alleged threats coming from Russia and China, as well as the situation in Ukraine, the UK Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"The ministers discussed the importance of increasing assistance to Ukraine to reverse Russian advances … and the need for the free world to counter threats from the likes of Russia and China by strengthening security and economic ties," the statement read.

It also said that the ministers "stressed the UK's commitment to European security and noted the need for close cooperation with France to strengthen the NATO Alliance."

Earlier this week, NATO leaders finalized at the summit in Madrid a new strategic concept until 2030, which designates Russia as "the most significant and direct threat."

Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO is an alliance aimed at confrontation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in early April that further expansion of the alliance eastward is aggressive in nature and will not make Europe more secure. At the same time, he noted that the Kremlin did not consider the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO an existential threat to Russia.