BRUSSELS, December 21, Reuters - NATO will seek meaningful talks with Moscow early next year to address tensions over Ukraine's border, alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels that they remain ready for meaningful dialogue with Russia and I intend to call a new NATO-Russian Council meeting as soon as possible in the new year.
The NATO-Russian Council NRC was created in 2002 to facilitate a dialogue between the Western military alliance and Moscow, but relations are strained and it last convened in July 2019 despite repeated calls by NATO to revive the format.
Russia has accumulated tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine and on Friday set out a list of demands including that NATO refuses to accept the ex-Soviet republic as a member and that no weapons or troops be deployed there.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that he hoped for constructive talks with Washington and Brussels on Russia's demands for security guarantees, as there were signs that the West was ready to work on the issue.
It was clear that it was solely up to NATO and Ukraine to decide on a future membership of Kyiv.
He said that NATO would consult with Kyiv on any talks with Moscow and that any dialogue with Russia has to respect the core principles that European security has been based on.
We will never compromise on our right to defend allies, and we will never compromise on the right of each country in Europe, including Ukraine, to choose its own path.