NATO is looking for a political and diplomatic solution for easing the situation on Ukraine’s borders, said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană. According to the official, Russia during the past few years has pursued a very aggressive policy that endangers regional security. He voiced hope that the dialogue and diplomacy will prevail and peace on the European continent will be ensured, IPN reports.
The NATO Deputy Secretary noted that Russia during a long period of time ignored any direct dialogue with NATO and a NATO-Russia meeting was ultimately convened after a hiatus of several years. Now NATO is working on concreter proposals that will be submitted to Russia for examination and that will be discussed at the next NATO-Russia meeting.
“The Russian Federation’s extremely aggressive actions against Ukraine and, in general against its neighbors, led to a security situation that is the severest one in the past 30 years. As it is a situation with a high security risk, NATO is actively looking for a political and diplomatic solution as diplomacy and dialogue are always better than tensions or a conflict,” Mircea Geoană stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova cannel.
The official said Russia turned into a factor of instability in the region and NATO is concerned about its expansionist ambitions. The deployment of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine is an attack on regional security.
“We want to give diplomacy a chance even if we are concerned about this extraordinary, unusual and threatening mobilization on all the borders of Ukraine. We hope that the dialogue will be the path that will help ease the situation and that there will be a mature and realistic dialogue. The Russian Federation has pursued an aggressive policy for a period and we cannot forget that in 2014 it illegally annexed Crimea and has encouraged a smoldering war in Donbas. We cannot ignore the massive pressure it exerts on its neighbors,” said the NATO Deputy Secretary General.
Russia launched new military exercises near Ukraine and in annexed Crimea, with about 6,000 soldiers and at least 60 warplanes being involved in these. It happens after the Kremlin accused Washington of ratcheting up tensions by putting several thousand of its own troops on alert.
