Russian Minister: NATO-Russia Council Returns to Routine Stage
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg photographed following the NATO-Russia Council meeting in April, 2016. (Photo: NATO)
Amid the Zapad-2017 exercises, some Russian media outlets report that NATO allegedly plans to freeze the NATO-Russia Council’s work until the end of the year. However, both the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and NATO’s press service refute these reports.
Amid the Zapad 2017 exercises, some Russian media outlets report that NATO allegedly plans to freeze the NATO-Russia Council’s work until the end of the year. However, both the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and NATO’s press service refute these reports.
“The work of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) has returned to the routine stage, and the dates for the meetings are determined during the contacts in Brussels”, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov said yesterday according to news agency TASS.
Meshkov admitted that there a date for the next meeting has not been scheduled yet.
“However, I have said on numerous occasions that the NATO-Russia Council has returned to its routine stage, so this issue is within the competence of our Permanent Representative to NATO and NATO’s Secretariat”, the agency quotes Meshkov as saying.
The NRC has held five meetings since April 2016, and among the issues discussed during these were the situation in Ukraine, military transparency, and efforts to reduce the risk of military incidents in Europe.
“The Alliance has no plans to “freeze” the NATO-Russia Council. Indeed, as the NATO Secretary General has said in recent interviews, we’re now looking into the possibility of convening another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. We are currently exploring possible dates with our Russian colleagues”, spokesperson Oana Lungescu told TASS on September 28.