NATO open to more talks with Russia amid Ukraine tensions
The US and its allies sat down with Russian envoys amid heightened tensions over Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine. While no gaps were bridged, NATO said it was ready for more talks with Moscow.
The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) convened on Wednesday in Brussels for the first time since July 2019.
The talks came during a series of high-profile meetings between Russian and Western officials as tensions rise over Russia's troop buildup on its border with Ukraine.
What did NATO say?
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the talks marked a "defining moment for European security."
Stoltenberg told reporters the four-hour meeting, mainly focused on the situation in and around Ukraine, was a difficult and "direct" one.
"Our differences will not be easy to bridge," he said. "But it is a positive sign that all 30 NATO allies sat down with Russia after two years."
Despite their differences, NATO and Russia expressed the need for further dialogue, specifically about arms control and missile deployment, Stoltenberg said.
NATO and Russian officials also discussed reestablishing respective offices in Brussels and Moscow, he added. Russia suspended its mission at NATO last October and closed the alliance's office in Moscow. The retaliatory move followed NATO's expulsion of Russian diplomats over espionage allegations.
Russian envoys raised the security proposal that was published last month, Stoltenberg said. The proposal included Russia's demands to stop admitting any new members to NATO and to withdraw forces from the alliance's eastern states.
NATO allies rejected those demands.