NATO said it has rescheduled a key meeting of foreign ministers for Friday after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was unable to make the original date next week.

"Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers moved forward to 31 March," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Twitter on Monday.

The NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels had been planned for April 5 and 6, but that was thrown into chaos last week when Tillerson revealed he would not be attending due to other commitments.

The State Department has confirmed that Tillerson would attend the rescheduled NATO talks if they could be held this Friday.

Diplomats have worked frantically in recent days to make the new date, with Britain revealing Monday that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will delay a visit to Moscow to fit in with Tillerson.

"We have unfortunately had to postpone the foreign secretary's visit to Russia planned this month due to rescheduling of the NATO foreign ministers meeting," a spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said.

Johnson has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "and looks forward to reinstating his visit as soon as possible," he added.

The rescheduling drama shows the importance attached to Tillerson's first visit to NATO headquarters, amid doubts about the commitment of President Donald Trump's administration to transatlantic ties.

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US Senate advances approval of Montenegro into NATO
Washington (AFP) March 27, 2017
The US Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to advance the approval of Montenegro as the newest member of NATO, in what supporters of the alliance's expansion argue would send a stern message to Russia. The procedural step, which advanced on a 97-2 vote, sets up a final approval in the chamber in the coming days. President Donald Trump's administration has encouraged lawmakers to back the ... read more

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