US To Consider Incentivizing Ex-Soviet States To Cooperate With NATO - State Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) The United States is seeking greater cooperation between Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and NATO countries and will work on bringing them closer to each other in 2020, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Clarke Cooper told reporters on Wednesday.

"We are talking about incentivizing former Soviet Union states to become more interoperable with NATO states," Cooper said.

US plans to spend a substantial amount of time discussing this issue in 2020, Cooper added. The Black Sea region is another US priority for this year, he added, including possible talks with regional players on key issues.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO's military buildup in eastern Europe and near Russia's borders could provoke a conflict and destabilize the region.