Blinken drives from Paris to Brussels for NATO meeting due to aircraft problem

The U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was forced to drive from Paris to Brussels because of a plane malfunction, local media reported Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

After arriving in France in a Boeing 737 aircraft, which has been modified for U.S. officials' use, Blinken met French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to discuss their support for Ukraine and the need to increase aid to Gaza.

The aircraft in question later suffered a technical problem, but the cause is not yet known, according to local media.

As a result, the U.S. delegation was forced to drive some 300 km from Paris to Brussels, where Blinken is due to attend a meeting of NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers on Wednesday and Thursday.

In a similar incident in January, Blinken's return to the United States from Switzerland, where he attended the World Economic Forum, was delayed due to a plane technical failure.