NATO Insists Military Contacts With Russia Remain Open

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov — NATO’s military-to-military contacts with Russia remain open from the side of NATO, an official from the military bloc told Sputnik on Tuesday following Russia’s Permanent NATO Envoy’s statement that these contacts should be restored.

"Channels of political dialogue remain open. So do channels for military-to-military contact – at least from our side," the NATO official said.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Permanent NATO Envoy Alexander Grushko said Moscow was ready to discuss within the NATO-Russia Council any issues related to the council members’ security, but the military contacts should be restored first. According to the envoy, "the first step in this direction could be restoration of the contacts on the military line."

The NATO official also referred to the December 2 statement by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who noted that the alliance had decided to keep channels for political contact open. Stoltenberg also spoke about raising the subject of reconvening the NATO-Russia Council to be used as a tool for political dialogue.

NATO-Russia Council's work was suspended on April 1, 2014, after the alliance's foreign ministers issued a statement condemning Crimea's reunification with Russia.

Russia has repeatedly warned that the increased NATO activity close to its borders is provocative and poses a threat to regional and international stability.