The United States has proposed reviving the Russia-NATO Council as one of the elements of a potential settlement of the war in Ukraine. About this informs Bloomberg agency.
Russia has so far avoided responding to the US ceasefire initiative, which would have involved freezing the conflict, recognizing the annexation of Crimea and lifting US sanctions.
“Since then, the U.S. has added new details to the proposal, including a proposal to resume security talks within the NATO-Russia Council, a source familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.” – says the message.
The Russia-NATO Council, created after the end of the Cold War for bilateral security cooperation, effectively ceased operations after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its last meeting was held on January 12, 2022 in Brussels, where Russia’s demands for so-called “security guarantees” were considered, which the member states of the Alliance rejected. Against the background of the fact that NATO has suspended the review of relations with Russia, the United States continues to search for ways to resolve the conflict diplomatically.
The possibility of restoring the NATO-Russia format, which until 2022 was the main channel of dialogue between the West and Moscow, may indicate Washington’s desire to return the negotiations to an orderly course. At the same time, the appearance of such an initiative is already causing concern among allies: during recent consultations, the United States did not give a clear answer as to whether it remains determined to introduce new sanctions in the event of continued armed aggression by Russia.
