(Bloomberg) -- Russia must de-escalate tensions over Ukraine as a condition for talks to begin with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on European security, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said.
While the military alliance may potentially discuss elements of Russia's draft security proposals, “it can all be done the moment when the Russian Federation de-escalates the situation” on Ukraine, Geoana said in an online interview Friday from Brussels. “It's in my opinion an indispensable pre-condition to resume the dialog within the NATO-Russia Council.”
Russia Demands Major NATO Pullback in Security Talks With U.S.
NATO is prepared for “any possibility” should Russia continue its “aggressive” moves, Geoana said. Still, he said he hopes spiraling tensions that have taken relations to their lowest since the Cold War can be resolved diplomatically, while ruling out Russia's demand for a say in which countries NATO accepts into membership as unacceptable.
The Baltic states would be undefendable if NATO and the U.S. agreed to Russia's terms, Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said, the Baltic News Service reported. Russia must stop threatening its neighbors and “shedding crocodile tears,” he said.
The alliance suspended practical cooperation with Moscow through the NATO-Russia Council following Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. In October this year, NATO expelled eight diplomats from Russia's mission to NATO as spies. Russia retaliated by suspending the operation of its NATO mission and ordering the closure of the alliance's Moscow office.
Geoana urged Russia to resume talks at the council on a “menu” of topics that includes Ukraine's security and the conflict over Crimea, restoring lines of communication, and the situation in Afghanistan.
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