NATO allies have "significant differences" with Russia over its demands for new security rules in Europe, but are ready to meet Kremlin envoys again, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.

"There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia on these issues, and the differences will not be easy to bridge," he said after talks with Russia at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"But it is a positive sign that all NATO allies and Russia sat down around the same table."

Speaking after a meeting of the revived NATO-Russia Council, Stoltenberg said the allies had agreed to hold a series of meetings with Moscow on a variety of strategic issues.

"Russia was not in a position to agree on that proposal. They didn't reject it either, but the Russian representatives made it clear that they needed some time to come back to NATO with an answer," he said.

Stoltenberg warned, however, that Russia would have no veto over any bid by Ukraine to join NATO and called for a "de-escalation" in Russia's military build-up on its neighbour's border.

"Ukraine as a sovereign nation, Ukraine has the right to self defence Ukraine is not a threat to Russia," he said.

"It is Russia that is the aggressor. It is Russia that has used force and continues to use force against Ukraine," he said.

"And then they're building up with around 100,000 troops, artillery, armour, drones, tens of thousands of combat ready troops and threatening rhetoric -- that's the problem."

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Russia has no 'voting right' on Ukraine's NATO membership: Kyiv
Kyiv (AFP) Jan 11, 2022
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that Russia had no say over whether Ukraine could join NATO, a topic at the centre of high-stakes talks between the West and Russia this week. "Russia has no voting right on the issue of Ukraine's NATO membership. This is a 'red line' that neither Ukraine nor our partners will cross," Kuleba told news site RBK Ukraine. "The collective West will not agree to provide Russia with 'legal guarantees' on the alliance's eastward non-enlargement, as ... read more