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For the first time in two years, NATO and Russia met to address the growing tensions around security on the European continent, especially in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Without any agreement on the table, the representatives were willing to continue talking.
This Wednesday, January 12, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia met in Brussels to address the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and other security issues on the European continent. It is the first meeting between the Alliance and Russia in more than two years.
The meeting, chaired by the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, began at 10:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and lasted for almost four hours.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko represented his delegation, while US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman represented hers. Most of the allies were led by their ambassadors to NATO.
At the end of the meeting, Stoltenberg said that, although it is a “positive sign” that the parties have “sat around the same table and addressed important issues”, “there are significant differences between the allies and Russia on these issues. “That” will not be easy to overcome. “
The NATO – Russia Council had a serious exchange on Russia’s military build-up in & around #Ukraine & implications for European security. #BORN Allies & #Russia agreed to explore a schedule of future meetings. Allies are ready to table proposals & seek constructive outcomes. pic.twitter.com/dszyECAfGe
– Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) January 12, 2022
The last NATO-Russia Council was held on July 5, 2019. The Council has held 10 meetings since 2016 when it was first convened following the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the central axis of the dialogue
The allies asked Russia for a military de-escalation, taking into account that they have concentrated more than 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border.
Stoltenberg noted that if Russia uses force again against Ukraine it would be a “serious strategic error” that would have “severe consequences” and “high cost.”
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia’s military exercises “have been carried out, are being carried out and will continue to be carried out” because it is “a habitual practice of the Armed Forces of any country”.
Indeed, the United States Undersecretary of State, Wendy Sherman, assured that Russia did not show a “commitment to de-escalate, nor a declaration that they would do so.”
For its part, Moscow wants security guarantees and asked Washington and NATO to back down in Eastern Europe, and for the Alliance to renounce incorporating Ukraine and Georgia.
But the Secretary General of the Alliance explained that the allies have an “open door” policy, where each country decides its own security agreements and that “it will not renounce its ability to protect and defend each other”, including “the presence of troops in the eastern part of the Alliance ”.
For his part, Sherman assured that “NATO and Washington are not going to renounce the expansion policy, with the entry of new countries into the Alliance in the future.”
Indeed, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandr Grushkó opined that NATO’s attempts to build Europe’s security “against and without Russia” are “doomed to failure.”
“We assume that the principle of indivisible security must take into account the interests of all and attempts to build security against and without Russia are counterproductive and are doomed to fail,” added Grushko.
“We indicate in a very frank and direct way, and without attempts to avoid the most acute problems … that the future deterioration of the situation may have unpredictable and very serious consequences for European security,” he said.
Finally, he announced that “if there is intimidation, there will be counter intimidation. And if they try to look for vulnerabilities in Russia’s defense, then they will look for vulnerabilities in NATO.”
Even so, the US undersecretary of state admitted that, at the meeting, the allies mentioned areas in which Moscow and NATO could collaborate, such as “reciprocal actions on risk reduction and transparency, better communication and arms control. ”.
At the same time, the two sides expressed the need to resume the dialogue and explore a calendar of future meetings.
The concerns of the West
In recent months, Russia has concentrated more than 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border, something that the neighboring country and Western allies see as the prelude to a possible attack. However, Moscow has denied these accusations on more than one occasion.
But the conflict between Russia and Ukraine dates back to 2014, when the Russians annexed the Crimean peninsula. At that time, NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Moscow and carried out the largest military reinforcement on its eastern flank after the Cold War, although it chose to keep the channels of dialogue open.
The NATO-Russia Council talks will continue on Thursday in Vienna. In that meeting they will have the presence of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
With EFE and Reuters
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