NATO's position toward Russia unchanged, business as usual impossible - spokesperson
BRUSSELS. Dec 2 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's words on using the NATO-Russia Council for political interaction with Russia cannot be interpreted as the changing of NATO's position, NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu told Interfax in Brussels on Wednesday.
"This is not about going back to business as usual, this is not about assuming anything," Lungescu said.
She referred to Stoltenberg's remarks at a press conference at the NATO headquarters following a meeting between the alliance's foreign policy chiefs.
"Last spring after the start of the crisis in Ukraine NATO decided to suspend practical cooperation with Russia but we decided at the same time to continue to maintain political dialogue with Russia and the NATO-Russia Council is part of this political dialogue and it's never been suspended, so therefore it's not possible to resume something which has not been suspended," Lungescu cited Stoltenberg as saying.
After the start of the crisis in Ukraine, there have been two NATO-Russia Council meetings, but "this is not about going back to business as usual," she said.
"The council has never been suspended, and we are looking into how we can use a tool which has been there all the time," she said.
"Because we never closed or suspended the political dialogue with Russia. We have had political dialogue with Russia ever since the crisis started, but what we suspended was the practical cooperation, and that remains suspended," Lungescu said in citing Stoltenberg.