NATO “freezes” Russia, Kremlin reacts
NATO will proceed in a complete review of relations and cooperation with Russia, in an attempt to put pressure on Moscow in order for the Russian leadership to change its stance towards Ukraine.
At the same time, the alliance added that it suspended plans regarding a joint mission to Syria chemical weapons. Specifically, the general secretary of NATO, Anders Fogh Rassmussen, said that officials of the alliance will not meet again with Russian counterparts and added that it would intensify political and military cooperation with the new Ukrainian authorities. “We decided that from now on we will stop meetings at political or military level with Russia” Rasmussen told reporters after the conclusion of the meeting, which was held in Brussels between officials of NATO and Russia.
NATO did conduct talks with Russia on a possible joint mission to protect an American ship, which will try to destroy the most dangerous chemical weapons of Syria. For its part, Russia's ambassador in NATO, Alexander Gkrushko, accused the North Atlantic Treaty for implicating different standards that restore the “Cold War” against his country. “This meeting has demonstrated that NATO continues to apply different standards. The stereotypes of the Cold War are still applied to Russia" he told reporters after the completion of the session on the situation in Ukraine.
