8 minutes agoKremlin considering Stoltenberg's invitation to NATO-Russia summit
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Russian Foreign Ministry has acknowledged that Secretary General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has proposed holding a meeting under the NATO-Russia Council next month, but the Kremlin has not decided yet whether it will participate. “We are analyzing the option”, said a Kremlin spokesman, according to the news agency, [...]
“We are analyzing the option”, said a Kremlin spokesman, according to the news agency, TASS.
The format of the meeting and composition of the Russian delegation is under consideration, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grusko has said.
A spokesman for NATO is quoted as saying, according to the AFP news agency, that the alliance has contacted the Kremlin to ensure participation.
“We are in contact with Russia” about the meeting, the spokesman has said, who has asked not to be identified.
The NATO-Russia Council, established in 2002, is currently not active due to the conflict east of Ukraine, between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
If the meeting takes place on January 12th, as Stoltenberg proposed, it would mark the Council's first organisation after two and a half years.
This is the first meeting that has been proposed since Moscow has demanded that NATO end enlargement in the east, as well as co-operation with states like Ukraine and Georgia.
American officials have said some demands are impossible or even contrary to Western values, but the United States is willing to engage in talks early January. / REL/
