Stoltenberg Invites Moscow To NATO-Russia Council Meeting To Defuse Tensions

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2021) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has invited Moscow to a NATO-Russia Council meeting in the run-up the alliance's summit in Brussels.

"I would like to once again invite Russia to participate in a NATO-Russia Council meeting as soon as possible. We have a lot of topics to discuss that correspond to the common interests of NATO and Russia," Stoltenberg told Die Welt in an interview, published in German late on Sunday.

According to Stoltenberg, the alliance offered to hold a new meeting more than a year ago but received no response.

The NATO chief said that the agenda could include such topics as a mutual information exchange on military maneuvers to prevent misunderstandings, and "sufficient transparency" of the military activities of each of the sides to avoid unintended incidents in the air and at sea.

Stoltenberg noted that the Russia-NATO ties were at the lowest point since the end of the Cold War, adding that dialogue within the framework of the Council was the best solution to defuse tensions.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow was ready to resume the work of the Russia-NATO Council, but it was up to the military to start a dialogue on the situation on the ground, including the alliance's deployment of significant forces on the territory of its new member states and in light of its violations of the agreements struck in the late 90s.