‘We don’t want a new Cold War’: Nato

LONDON: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the alliance did not want a return to Cold War hostilities with Russia while expressing support for Britain’s strong stance on the nerve agent attack. He said the targeting of former double agent Sergei Skripal fit a “pattern of reckless behaviour” to which the US-led military alliance had responded, but insisted political dialogue must also continue. “We don’t want a new Cold War, we don’t want a new arms race, Russia is our neighbour therefore we have to continue to strive for an improved better relationship with Russia,” he told BBC radio. He noted that NATO allies have in recent years imposed economic sanctions on Russia and deployed more troops in eastern Europe in response to the “changed security situation”. But he stressed: “To isolate Russia is not an alternative.”