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Stoltenberg: NATO-Russia Council may meet at ministerial level

The issue may be discussed after a meeting of the council at the level of ambassadors, scheduled for July 13
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg AP Photo/Virginia Mayo
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
© AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

WARSAW, July 7. /TASS/. After a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of ambassadors, scheduled for July 13, it will be possible to speak of preparation for a ministerial-level meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday at a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda shortly before the NATO summit in Warsaw.

On Wednesday, Stoltenberg said in a statement posted on the alliance’s official website that the Russia-NATO Council will hold its meeting at the level of ambassadors in Brussels July 13.

"The meeting will take place on 13 July at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, shortly after the NATO Summit in Warsaw [July 8-9]," the statement said.

"The NATO-Russia Council has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue and information exchange, to reduce tensions and to increase predictability. Our practical cooperation with Russia remains suspended, but we are keeping channels for political dialogue open," it said.

"Our discussions will focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk Agreements. We will also look at military activities, with a particular focus on transparency and risk reduction, as well as the security situation in Afghanistan," the secretary-general said.

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