NATO Deputy Sec. Gen. for Defense: ‘Russia’s actions are too aggressive towards Ukraine, Georgia’
The Bucharest Nine (B9) was established in 2015 following the annexation of Crimea by Russia. The members of B9 are Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria. Photo: video grab.
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‘Russia’s actions are too aggressive towards its neighbours – Ukraine and Georgia”, NATO Deputy Secretary General for Defense and Police, Patrick Turner, said at a meeting of the Bucharest Nine (B9) Foreign Ministers in Tallinn on October 27.
Turner noted that while NATO’s position on Russia’s actions towards Ukraine and Georgia remains unchanged, this position does not aim to provoke Russia, but is rather ‘an adequate description of reality’.
Deputy FM of ???????? @SzSz_velSek discussed in #Tallinn security issues of the Eastern flank of #NATO with Ministers / Deputy Ministers in B9 format: ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? and with ????????State Department Assistant Secretary.
— PLinEstonia (@PLinEstonia) October 27, 2021
Thanks for hosts: FM @eliimets and @MFAestonia! pic.twitter.com/8sV2LLlY28
Turner also said that relations between NATO and Russia deteriorated long before the last crisis, and that Moscow and NATO have not had direct dialogue in 18 months.
The closure of the Russian mission in NATO and the closure of the alliance’s offices in Moscow do not mean that dialogue is finished. We [NATO] are still open to dialogue”, said Turner.
The Bucharest Nine meeting was also attended by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Karen Donfried.
It was very useful to hear from the ministers about their experience working with Russia. The main point of today’s talks for me was to see the minister’s strong support for NATO’s open door policy, and to hear now that NATO can deepen its cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia”, Donfried said.
The Bucharest Nine (B9) was established in 2015 following the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
The members of B9 are Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Secretary General of NATO, says that the current political crisis in Georgia is damaging the West’s view of the country. In an interview with the Georgian office of Voice of America (VOA), Rasmussen said that domestic, foreign and security policies are closely linked to each other, which the Georgian government should take into account and stabilize the political situation in the country.
The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee has urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia's occupied regions of Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, as the committee opened its meeting in Tbilisi earlier today.
OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia reaffirms its full support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. The joint statement was delivered on behalf of Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America at the 28th OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting on December 3.