RIGA, December 1. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of NATO member states met in Riga to discuss the possibility of imposing economic sanctions and political restrictions on Russia in case of a presumed "aggression against Ukraine," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.
Stoltenberg reiterated that the alliance adhered to its "dual-track approach" to Russia, by combining deterrence and dialogue.
At the same time, he evaded a journalist’s question on whether the alliance was ready to support Ukraine militarily in case of a conflict with Russia.
Sharing data and assessing situation
According to Stoltenberg, NATO countries share intelligence and information about Russia’s actions regarding Ukraine and provide political and technical support to Kiev.
"We share information, we share intelligence, and we monitor very closely what is going on, and we have assets that provide us with vital and important and very detailed information. And we are actively assessing the situation," he said. "And then, we provide support to Ukraine, political support, practical support."
"There is a common assessment that we are concerned about the situation in and around Ukraine. And Allies share intelligence. Then, of course, there is no certainty, no clarity about exactly what are the Russian intentions. And they may actually evolve and change," the NATO secretary general continued, answering to a question of whether the member states had a common assessment of the situation.
"So the thing is that you can discuss whether the likelihood for incursion is 20% or 80%. It doesn't matter. We need to be prepared for the worst. And we need to convey a message to Russia that they should not conduct a military incursion into Ukraine," he continued.
He added that NATO foreign ministers will discuss the situation in the Black Sea region with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Georgia.
Threats of sanctions
"Economic sanctions and political reactions are part of what we have discussed today, also with the United States," he said, adding that Russia apparently "underestimated" the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States after 2014.
He once again warned Russia against presumed "aggressive actions against Ukraine."
"We call on Russia to be transparent, de-escalate and reduce tensions," Stoltenberg continued. "Any future Russian aggression against Ukraine would come at a high price.
And have serious political and economic consequences for Russia."
Military support to Ukraine
The secretary general of NATO evaded the question of whether the alliance was ready to support Ukraine militarily in case of a conflict with Russia.
"We're constantly <…> looking into what should we do as Allies, or as an Alliance, and then what to do to live up to our main responsibility to protect NATO Allies in this region, in the Black Sea region. And there we have already done a lot, and we are constantly assessing what more we should do, and then we ensure that we have all the plans and the capabilities in place to be able to react to any possible situation and threat against any NATO Ally," he said.
Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted said that Russia was recording the information campaigns generated by Western states that aim to present Moscow as a threat to the Ukrainian conflict settlement. Peskov did not rule out that this policy was used for covering up "Kiev’s aggressive intentions.".