Russia and NATO still cannot narrow differences on Ukraine issue

(Baonghean.vn) - Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have been unable to overcome their deep disagreements over the Ukraine issue. The announcement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the ambassadorial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels (Belgium) yesterday, July 13.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: Reuters.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting between the Russian ambassador and the ambassadors of the 28 NATO member states in Brussels, Mr. Stoltenberg said the meeting took place in an open and frank atmosphere. However, the NATO official announced that the two sides continued to have “persistent and profound disagreements” on the issue of Ukraine, without giving details.

“We need to work together to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine through diplomatic and peaceful means. Only this will help the country develop and contribute to a comprehensive improvement in the relationship between NATO and Russia,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.

In addition, Mr. Stoltenberg added that, in the spirit of transparency, NATO informed Russia about the important decisions that were just adopted at the summit of the bloc in Warsaw (Poland) last weekend. One of these decisions was that NATO agreed to deploy four battalions of about 4,000 soldiers to Poland and the Baltic states.

NATO Secretary General affirmed that NATO military exercises will take place in the safest and most predictable manner.

Meanwhile, Russia’s permanent representative to NATO, Alexander Grushko, said that one of the topics discussed by the two sides was the implementation of political issues within the framework of the Minsk Agreement on Ukraine. According to Mr. Grusko, to do this, different mechanisms are needed, such as the “Normandy Four”, the “Contact Group”, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Mr. Grushko affirmed that there were no Russian military activities in Ukraine, stressing that resolving the crisis in the neighboring country depended on the ability of the Kiev government to implement the agreed steps.

In addition, Russia's representative to NATO accused the military alliance's measures on its eastern flank of being unsatisfactory and counterproductive. Mr. Grushko said that NATO was bringing the parties back to the Cold War atmosphere, and affirmed that the "confrontational model" that NATO is creating cannot put pressure on Russia.

Lan Ha

(According to Sputnik)