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Russia, NATO discuss ways to reduce tensions and prevent incidents

This was the first NATO-Russia Council meeting in seven months

© AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

BRUSSELS, May 31. /TASS/. The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) has discussed ways to reduce tensions and prevent dangerous incidents, the Russian mission to NATO said in a statement following the Council’s meeting.

"On May 31, 2018 a regular meeting of the NATO-Russia Council was held in Brussels. The members of the NRC presented their assessments of the factors affecting the situation in the field of military security in the Euro-Atlantic region, discussed the ways to reduce current tensions and prevent dangerous incidents," the statement reads.

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"In order to increase the predictability of military activities in accordance with established practice, the sides exchanged briefings on the upcoming significant exercises of the armed forces of NATO member states and Russia this year," the mission added.

Both parties avoided talking with reporters, settling for issuing statements.

This was the first NRC meeting in the seven months that passed since then Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko had left Brussels to take the position of deputy foreign minister, and the seventh since cooperation had been suspended in the wake of the Ukrainian crisis.

Acting Permanent Representative to NATO Yuri Gorlach represented Russia at the meeting.

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