Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler held diplomatic meetings in Brussels, where he is attending a NATO defence ministers meeting.

Guler met with UK Defence Secretary John Healey as part of his bilateral talks in Brussels on Wednesday, according to a National Defence Ministry post on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

He later held a trilateral meeting at NATO headquarters with Romanian Defence Minister Liviu-Ionut Mosteanu and Atanas Zapryanov, Bulgaria’s defence minister.

Guler also attended a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting, at the level of defence ministers, in an informal format after the main NATO defence ministers’ session.

Representatives from the 32 NATO member states gathered for the council meeting, joined by Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Established to elevate relations between NATO and Ukraine to a higher level, the NATO-Ukraine Council convened for the first time in July 2023 at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Later in the day, Guler took part in the Ukraine Defence Contact Group Meeting, which brought together NATO defence ministers to discuss continued support for Kiev.

During his visit to Brussels, Guler also visited Türkiye’s Permanent Delegation to NATO and the Turkish Military Representation at NATO headquarters.

“Guler was briefed on ongoing activities by Ambassador Basat Ozturk, Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to NATO, and Lieutenant General Kemal Turan, Head of the Turkish Military Representation,” the ministry said.