BRUSSELS Feb 16NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that there is time for a political settlement of the situation around Ukraine. «It is not too late for Russia to move away from the edge of the conflict and choose the path of peace. NATO sent a written proposal to Russia on transparency, risk reduction and arms control. We have not yet received answer, and I again appeal to Russia with a proposal to meet again in the format of the Russia-NATO Council,» he said at a press conference following the first day of the meeting of the heads of the North Atlantic bloc's defense ministries.
It’s too early to talk about the positive in the situation in Ukraine, the head of NATO said. At the same time, he again noted that the alliance would not compromise on key principles, including the right of countries to join the bloc. Western states have recently expressed concern about the allegedly dangerous actions of Russia in borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly rejected such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. Unsubstantiated allegations that Russia is preparing provocations continue to come from the West, despite the return of Russian troops to their places of deployment after the exercises. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. At a meeting with Putin, the head of the RF Ministry of Defense reported that «some of the exercises are coming to an end, some will be completed in the near future.» The southern and western military districts of the Russian Federation have begun returning troops to their places of deployment, Major General Igor Konashenkov, an official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday. will insist on NATO's refusal to accept Ukraine, Gavrilov said
