Lithuania hosts traditional Snow Meeting of security policy experts

VILNIUS - Security policy experts are gathering in Lithuania on Thursday for an annual Snow Meeting to discuss challenges faced by Europe and the United States.

Participants of the two-day informal gathering include the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Slovakia and Latvia, and Ben Hodges, former commander of the United States Army Europe.

"The meeting will discuss ways to maintain a strong transatlantic link and to strengthen NATO (...). The focus will be on the Russian threat and response measures," the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, the organizer of the event, said in a press release.

A total of over 100 high-ranking diplomats, advisers, parliamentarians, experts from analytical and research centers, and international and security policy experts from about 15 countries and NATO and EU bodies are expected to attend the 12th Snow Meeting in the district of Trakai, close to Vilnius.