NATO: Foreign Mins Meet To Discuss Ukraine Peace Deal, Rubio Noticable Absentee

A meeting of NATO foreign ministers is underway in Brussels to discuss for the first time the nascent 20-point peace plan, which was put to Russian President Vladimir Putin on 2 December. Since the first leaks of the initial 28-point peace plan (seen as heavily favouring Russia), NATO has been largely sidelined from the negotiation process, with the US and Russia (and eventually Ukraine) the prime interlocutors. Politico reports, "While a deal remains a moving target, some allies insist they have red lines they want to be consulted on first, according to four NATO diplomats. Those concern Kyiv’s accession to the alliance, the placement of troops and arms on allied soil, and respect for international law."

• Secretary General Mark Rutte to hold a presser after the meeting ~15:30CET (09:30ET, 14:30GMT).
• In what will prove a worrying signal to the rest of NATO, the US has not sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to the meeting. His deputy, Christopher Landau, has taken his place instead. It marks the first time since 1999 that a US Secretary of State has missed a NATO ministerial.
• Speaking at a VTB investment conference on 2 Dec, Putin said, “We are not going to fight with Europe, I have already said this a hundred times. But if Europe wants to fight with us, we are ready to do so right now.” While these comments may be dismissed as sabre-rattling, there is the unavoidable reality that NATO's eastern flank remains vulnerable to Russian incursion via jets and drones, and the Baltic States in particular remain on high alert for any sign of ground incursion.