Stoltenberg: NATO is not seeking confrontation with Russia
NATO hopes for a dialogue with Russia and does not want a confrontation with Moscow, stated the Secretary General of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, as reported by RIA Novosti.
“We do not want a new cold war with Russia, we do not want a confrontation with Russia, so we are acting in a balanced and measured way. We continue to seek a dialogue with Russia, since this is our largest neighbor ... and we must try not to be nervous,” he said.
According to Stoltenberg, the building up of Russia’s military presence is the reason why NATO’s collective defense has been strengthened.
The NATO Secretary General noted that “at present, the relationship between the alliance and Russia has deteriorated significantly and has reached its lowest point since the end of the Cold War, and this state of affairs is connected to the illegal annexation of the Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing destabilizing actions in the east of Ukraine.”
At the same time, he said, NATO is pursuing a two-pronged strategy with regard to Russia: defense and dialogue.
“We believe that as long as we are strong and predictable, we can also conduct a political dialogue with Russia in order to try to avoid escalation and a new cold war,” Stoltenberg said.
Earlier, Stoltenberg said that there are fundamental differences between NATO and Russia in relation to Ukraine and the Crimea.