NATO foreign ministers won't unfreeze cooperation with Russia -senior official
BRUSSELS. June 23 (Interfax) - NATO is not going to alter the format of relations with Russia chosen in connection with the Ukrainian crisis because it does not see Moscow taking definite steps towards de-escalation in this conflict, a NATO senior official said at a press briefing on Monday.
The alliance has decided to suspend any practical collaboration with Russia, he said while presenting the agenda of a Brussels sitting of NATO foreign ministers on June 24-25.
The Russia-NATO Council is still a diplomatic channel, but its joint committees do not converge and the ministers are not expected to change that format at the upcoming sitting, he said. At the same time, the Russia-NATO Council may hold an ambassadorial meeting to discuss the Ukrainian crisis. The latest meeting was not very pleasant but similar meetings will be held after the NATO foreign ministerial conference. Their precise dates are yet unknown, the official said.
The ministers will have lunch on Wednesday to ponder political implications of the Russian attempt to reshape by force the European political map, he said.
They will not just urge Russia to stop the flow of personnel and armaments into Ukraine and destabilization of that country and to publicly support the peace plan of President Poroshenko but will also stress the importance of universal compliance with the Geneva commitments to peace and stability in Ukraine, said the officer from the NATO political unit.
Meanwhile, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the alliance's administration had not noticed a significant improvement on the Russian side of the Russian-Ukrainian border.
She said they had seen the return of two Russian military units with the approximate numbers of 2,000 men to the Ukrainian border. The units joined a unit of about 1,000 men standing by for a political order, Lungescu said, adding it was a step back rather than a step towards de-escalation.
