Stoltenberg: NATO's practical cooperation with Russia is still pending
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, announced the issues that will be discussed during the Russia-NATO Council meeting that will take place in Brussels on the 13th of July. The meeting, which will be held for the second time since 2014, will be devoted to the discussion of the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.
“We will also consider military activity, putting special focus on transparency and limitation of risks and also on the situations with security in Afghanistan,” said Stoltenberg, quoted on NATO’s website. “Our practical cooperation with Russia is still pending but we are leaving the door to political dialogue open.”
Earlier, the parties discussed the possibility of convening a Russia-NATO Council meeting. Stoltenberg, however, stated that such a meeting could only take place after the NATO Summit in Warsaw that is scheduled for the 8th-9th of July.
On the 1st of July, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, stated that Moscow will try to open a dialogue with NATO despite the expansion of the Alliance to Russian borders. On the following day, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Russia-NATO Council meeting of permanent representatives is scheduled for the 13th of July.