NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg did not hide the disagreements between the Allies and Russia on Wednesday 12 January at the end of the Council meeting between the two parties in Brussels, while stressing the willingness to keep talking.
“We had a very serious and direct exchange on the situation in and around Ukraine and the implications for European security. There are significant differences between the NATO Allies and Russia on these issues”, he told the media. Mr Stoltenberg acknowledged that the differences between the parties would “not be easy to bridge”.
The Russian negotiator, Alexander Grushko, also explained that there were “many differences on fundamental issues”.
According to the NATO Secretary General, the Russian side referred to the proposals it published in December that aimed to address security concerns, which include a request not to admit any more new members to NATO and the withdrawal of Alliance forces from the Eastern Allies’ countries.
For their part, the Allies reaffirmed their organisation’s Open Door policy and the right of each nation to choose its own security arrangements, and they also made it clear that they would not give up their ability to protect and defend each other, including with the presence of troops in the eastern part of the Alliance, the Secretary General added, revealing the differences in the two sides’ views.
Despite the opposition, both Russia and the Allies expressed the need to resume dialogue and to consider a timetable for future meetings, Mr Stoltenberg announced. He said, however, that the Russian delegation had not been prepared during the meeting to agree on a timetable or on future meetings, whereas the Allies had made it clear that they were prepared to schedule a series of meetings to address issues such as missiles.
According to Mr Grushko, however, Russia and NATO do not have a positive agenda, warning that the continued deterioration of the situation could lead to “the most unpredictable and serious consequences for European security”.
Many possible topics for discussion
“The Allies are clear-eyed about the prospects for progress in these talks”, Mr Stoltenberg said, while pledging that they would spare no effort to find a political solution to the crisis. He said that while the Allies were ready to meet with Russia again for further discussions, to put concrete proposals on the table, and to seek constructive results, they were “not ready to compromise on the fundamental principle of European security: all countries have the right to choose their own path”.
The Secretary General detailed the wishes of the Allies, who would, among other things, like to discuss concrete ways to increase the transparency of military exercises, prevent dangerous military incidents, and reduce space and cyber threats. Arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, including addressing reciprocal missile limitations and nuclear policies, could also be addressed. Furthermore, according to Mr Stoltenberg, NATO members would like to explore ways to improve civilian and military communication channels and the possibility of re-establishing the respective offices in Moscow and Brussels, which were closed in October following a Russian decision (see EUROPE 12814/26).
Beyond the proposals, the Allies reiterated their “serious concern” about Russia's military build-up in and around Ukraine, reiterating their call on Moscow to de-escalate the situation immediately and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours. Russia must refrain from any aggressive posture of force and malicious activity against the Allies and comply with all its international obligations and commitments, they added, according to Mr Stoltenberg.
Establishing a European position
For their part, the EU Defence and Foreign Ministers will try to define a single position on Europe’s security architecture at their informal meetings in Brest on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 January.
The EU Member States’ ambassadors in the Political and Security Committee were briefed on Tuesday 11 January by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on the US-Russia talks held on 10 January. Ms Sherman also met with the Secretary General of the European External Action Service, Stefano Sannino, on the 11th.
“Working with the United States and NATO, the EU must now define what we can do to uphold Europe’s security order and the principles underpinning it - which are clearly under threat today”, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on his blog on Wednesday 12 January. In his view, the EU ministers must arrive at a “unified” EU position and substantiate their role “by backing it up with concrete actions, i.e. not just what we think or want, but what we intend to do”.
Mr Borrell put forward several ideas: a discussion with Russia on security arrangements in Europe and how to improve them, the establishment of a more effective crisis management mechanism with Russia and permanent and operational conflict prevention mechanisms, as well as confidence-building measures to ensure that the behaviour of all parties is not misinterpreted, especially with regard to military manoeuvres. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)