Nato chief says allies ready for more Russia talks despite ‘significant differences’ over demands for new security rules

Stoltenberg said it was ‘positive’ that the two sides had been able to sit down together, reviving the Nato-Russia Council platform, and that Nato members had invited Russia to agree to a series of talks

Nato said it would be impossible for its 30 members to agree to Moscow’s demands, and Russia would have no veto on Ukraine’s right to join the alliance

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Alexander Grushko (centre), Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Alexander Fomin (right), Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Photo: dpa

Published: 2:17am, 12 Jan 2022Updated: 11:28pm, 12 Jan 2022

) The Nato allies warned Russia on Wednesday that they would not compromise on the alliance’s right to defend its eastern members to avoid further conflict in Ukraine, but invited Moscow to further talks on calming security concerns.

Speaking after talks with Russian envoys at Nato headquarters in Brussels, alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned: “There are significant differences between Nato allies and Russia on these issues.”

Stoltenberg said that it would be impossible for the 30 Nato members to agree to Moscow’s core demands for a new security order in Europe, and in particular added that Russia would have no veto on Ukraine’s right to eventually join the alliance.

President Vladimir Putin’s government has issued a series of demands for the West to rule out accepting new members like Ukraine, Georgia or Finland on its eastern flanks and demanded limits on allied deployments in former Soviet allies that joined Nato after the Cold War.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ‘positive’ about talks. Photo: EPA

Stoltenberg said it was “positive” that the two sides had been able to sit down together, reviving the Nato-Russia Council platform, and that Nato members had invited Russia to agree to a series of talks to discuss arms control and “many other issues to prevent a new armed conflict.”