Nato foreign ministers mark 75 years of alliance with support for Ukraine on agenda

Ceremonies have been held in Brussels to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of Nato – the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The occasion was marked with speeches, flags and marching bands at Nato headquarters, where foreign ministers also discussed the alliance's ongoing support for Ukraine.

Nato's Secretary General reminded the United States that it needed its allies more than ever as the war in Ukraine enters its third year.

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The alliance's 32 member states agreed on Wednesday to start planning for a greater role in coordinating military aid to Ukraine to help it fight Russia in Europe's biggest conflict since the Second World War.

It is a show of unity as Ukraine awaits a package worth around $60bn that remains stalled in the US Congress.

In a speech marking the anniversary, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said "Nato is bigger, stronger, and more united than ever."

He welcomed the fact that the founding treaty, which is normally kept in Washington DC, was on display at Nato Headquarters for the first time, saying: "Never has a single document with so few words meant so much to so many people.

"So much security, so much prosperity and so much peace.

"All because of its solemn promise: that we stand together and protect one another, as we have for 75 years."

The anniversary was also marked in central London, with the flags of all 32 alliance nations lining The Mall.

The UK is one of the 12 founding member countries of Nato, with the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force providing significant contributions to the alliance over the last three-quarters of a century.

At its heart is the concept of collective defence, with an attack on one member considered an attack on all, which gave US military protection to Western Europe.

The first Nato headquarters was in London at 13 Belgrave Square, where it remained for two years before moving to Paris.

Since 1967 Nato's headquarters has been in Brussels.