The alliance secretary general said the leaders of 30 NATO countries will hold consultations ahead of the Russia-US meeting in Geneva
NATO will continue to seek dialogue with Russia without seeing it as a sign of weakness and welcomes the upcoming meeting between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday before the opening of the alliance summit.
“NATO will continue to seek dialogue with Russia. This is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary, it is a sign of strength, and I welcome the upcoming meeting between Presidents Biden and Putin”, – he said.
Stoltenberg said the alliance leaders would hold consultations with US President Joe Biden ahead of the Russia-US summit in Geneva on 16 June.
“I am confident that NATO leaders will confirm our dual approach to Russia: a strong defence combined with dialogue”, – he stressed.
At the same time, Stoltenberg argued that “NATO’s relationship with Russia is at its lowest point since the end of the Cold War, all because of Russia’s aggressive actions”. The Secretary General repeated the whole list of accusations against Russia: from “aggression against Georgia and Ukraine” to “assassination attempts and poisonings, cyber attacks and hybrid attacks”. He assured that NATO is adapting and responding to the threats it sees from Russia by increasing its military presence near Russia’s borders and increasing defence spending.
Later, speaking at the German Marshall Fund in an online discussion ahead of the NATO summit, Stoltenberg described dialogue with Moscow as necessary to “manage a complex relationship and avoid possible incidents and accidents”.
“We also need an arms control dialogue, and I welcome the decision by the US and Russia to extend the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START),” the alliance secretary general said. In this context, he added that the forthcoming meeting between Putin and Biden “is not inconsistent with NATO’s defence and dialogue approach towards Russia”.