MUNICH, Germany – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Saturday he had sent a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offering more talks to defuse a possible conflict in Ukraine but warned Moscow of the dangers of making impossible security demands.
Stoltenberg said he sent the letter Thursday urging Lavrov to agree to more talks in the format of the NATO-Russia Council, which met in January to formally discuss Moscow’s calls for allies to withdraw troops from eastern Europe.
He also told the Munich Security Conference that there were no signs of a Russian withdrawal from the borders of Ukraine – despite Russia’s assertion this week that it had begun withdrawing troops – and that the risk of a conflict was real as Moscow’s military build-up continued.
“I have invited Russia and all NATO allies to meetings in the NATO-Russia Council. And I reiterated my invitation in the letter that I sent to minister Lavrov on Thursday,” he said according to Reuters.
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