12. 01. 2022. 00:00   >>  16:45

STOLTENBERG CONVENES

NATO-Russia Council holds first meeting in over 2 years

In a "defining moment for European security," the US and its allies sat down with Russian envoys amid heightened tensions over Russia's troop buildup on Ukraine's border.

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.

 

Briefing reporters after the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the talks marked a "defining moment for European security."

 

Stoltenberg said 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."

 

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.

 

"Allies reaffirmed NATO's open door policy," the NATO chief said. "Allies made [it] clear that they will not renounce their ability to defend their each other, including presence of troops in eastern allies."