BRUSSELS, July 13. /TASS/. NATO’s support to Ukraine actually encourages Kiev to go ahead with the war in Donbass, Russia’s Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Thursday after a NATO-Russia Council meeting.

"There is a danger that the actions taken by NATO countries in Ukraine and all assistance programs along with other signals actually pursue a goal to encourage Kiev authorities to preserve the current situation and deadlock in the military situation in Donbass," he said.

"Thus, the NATO stance evidently runs counter to collective interests in a reliable solution to the Ukraine crisis."

At the NATO-Russia Council meeting, "actually, there was no discussion" about Ukraine, he said.

"The situation is clear to everyone. The Minsk process is being stalled by, primarily, Kiev’s reluctance to fulfil wholly the political set of measures … and also by reluctance to take measures so as to disengage the sides’ heavy weapons which is impossible to achieve without a sustainable ceasefire," Grushko said.

"We have underlined that NATO members continue their talk about some particular responsibility of Russia, but while verbally urging to implement the Minsk accords, they do not take any tangible steps to encourage the Ukrainian authorities to implement the Minsk accords."