Nato urged to engage Russia

BRUSSELS: Germany pushed its Nato allies on Wednesday to re-open high-level channels of communication with Russia, arguing that Moscow has a constructive role to play in many areas, especially in ending the Syrian conflict.
"We still have very different experiences with Russia, there is a difficult situation in eastern Ukraine, again breaches of the ceasefire," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at a meeting of his Nato peers in Brussels.
"But we also see that Russia is acting definitely in a constructive way in the efforts to find a solution for Syria."
Russia´s intervention in Ukraine and support for pro-Moscow rebels fighting the pro-Western government in Kiev has badly soured ties with the West, prompting Nato to suspend all practical cooperation.
"I pushed... for possibilities to reduce risks and exchange information with Russia. This can only mean in the current situation that we try to make this instrument available again," he said, referring to the NRC. Steinmeier said his Nato peers had agreed to ask alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg to begin preparations for such talks.