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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg did not express optimism Monday about any significant progress in talks between the United States and Russia.
But he said that while negotiations focused on easing tensions over Ukraine may not resolve all issues, they could provide a way to avoid conflict.
Mr Stoltenberg spoke as US and Russian officials held talks in Geneva earlier in the week with intense Western diplomatic activity with Moscow.
“I do not think we should wait for these meetings to resolve all issues. “Our hope is that we can agree on a way forward, that we can agree on further meetings, that we can agree on a process,” Stoltenberg said.
He spoke at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna.
The United States and NATO hope that with this week’s talks, they will be able to avoid the risk of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has made security demands, including promising that the alliance will not continue to expand in Eastern Europe. Mr Stoltenberg made it clear that this was unacceptable.
“We have said very clearly that we will never compromise on the right of every country in Europe to choose its own path, including the security agreements in which it wants to participate,” he said.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Stefanishyna said that “the aggressor can not impose conditions until the Russian tanks have left the border with Ukraine.”
“We see this as an attempt by Russia to change the course of the talks, threatening a new war, without taking any steps towards a peaceful solution according to the Minsk and Normandy forces. “Russia is trying to impose its own agenda, instead of returning to the negotiating table,” she said.
The US-Russia talks in Geneva will be followed by a NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels on 12 January and talks within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on 13 January.
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