LONDON, April 7. /TASS/. The United Kingdom will host a meeting of military experts from 40 countries to discuss options for ensuring security in the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities end, the Financial Times reported.
According to the newspaper, the video conference will include representatives of countries that signed a joint statement in March, urging Iran to "cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping." Initially, it was signed by the leaders of the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Japan, with 30 other countries joining later, including a number of European states, as well as Australia, Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, Canada, New Zealand, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, and South Korea.
According to the report, a senior British military official will deliver opening remarks, and the virtual meeting will be coordinated from the Northwood military base near London.
As the Financial Times reported, citing two unnamed officials familiar with the talks, the creation of a naval coalition is complicated by differences in the military resources available to each participant. For example, the article said, some countries have offered to provide mine-hunters but not the frigates needed to protect them. The proposed coalition, officials said, will not operate as a NATO mission and will include countries outside the alliance.