Sharjah 24 – AFP: The United States and its European allies sat down with senior Russian envoys at NATO headquarters on Wednesday, hoping that a revived diplomatic engagement can head off the threat of conflict on the Ukraine border.
Both sides remain wedded to their starting positions, and have begun a round of tense diplomacy with some 100,000 Russian troops massed near Ukraine's frontier.
The West defends NATO's "open-door policy" towards potential future members like Ukraine and Georgia, while Moscow is demanding a cast-iron guarantee that the alliance will not expand further towards its territory.
Russia's massive troop build-up around already partially occupied Ukraine has forced Washington to engage with Moscow to head off fears of an all-out military confrontation.
The two sides on Wednesday revived the NATO-Russia council, a platform that has not met since 2019.
"It is a timely opportunity for dialogue at a critical moment for European security. When tensions are high, it is even more important that we sit down around the same table and address our concerns," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said as envoys sat down.
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