NATO wants "constructive relations" with Russia

NATO wants "constructive relations" with Russia, said secretary general Jens Stoltenberg ahead of a high profile summit taking place next month in Warsaw. "We follow our international commitments and the Russia-NATO Founding Act. We are no longer in the state of Cold War," he told German newspaper Der Spiegel on Saturday.

Formal ties between NATO and Russia were suspended after the invasion of Crimea in February 2014, but the NATO-Russia Council met this April for the first time in two years.

Georgia's prospective membership of NATO seems to be on hold, with European powers wary of offering an 'Article 5' security guarantee to Georgia given the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which are Russian-backed self-declared republics on Georgia's sovereign territory since a war between Georgia and Russia in 2008.

SOURCE: commonspace.eu and agencies

PHOTO: Jens Stoltenberg

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.