BRUSSELS, Jan 4, Reuters -- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting of allied ambassadors with top Russian officials for next week as both sides seek dialogue to prevent open conflict over Ukraine, a NATO official said on Tuesday.
After an espionage dispute in October, the Western military alliance, deeply concerned about Russia's military build-up along Ukraine's border, has been seeking a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months, but the forum seemed to be in jeopardy.
The council's meeting, which has been used for dialogue since 2002, will take place in Brussels on January 12 after U.S. and Russian officials hold security talks on January 10 in Geneva.
Moscow wants to know that NATO will halt its eastward expansion and end military cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia.
Any dialogue with Russia would have to proceed on the basis of reciprocity, address NATO's concerns about Russia's actions. A NATO official said that the exercise would take place in consultation with the European partners.
Russian officials will be attending the NATO meeting in Brussels, according to Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and other Russian officials are expected to attend the Brussels talks after meeting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Geneva.
On January 13, the talks will continue in the Vienna-based Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE, which includes the United States and its NATO allies, as well as Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states.