NATO: “A new war could break out in Europe”

It will not be easy to bridge the differences between Russia and NATO over Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

It will not be easy to bridge the differences between Russia and NATO over Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the end of the NATO-Russia meeting in Brussels, the first in two years.

“There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia. It will not be easy to bridge our differences, but it is a positive sign that all NATO allies and Russia have sat at the same table and engaged on key issues,” Stoltenberg told reporters after talks at Alliance headquarters, Reuters reports.

According to media reports, Stoltenberg commented that there is a “real risk” of a new conflict breaking out in Europe amid tensions between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance.

The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council ended in Brussels after four hours, TASS reported earlier. At the first meeting of the Council in the last two years, the Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, who was Russia’s permanent representative to NATO for five years, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.

The Alliance was represented at the talks by the permanent representatives of 30 NATO member states, the Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman.

The meeting was held two days after the talks on security guarantees between Russia and the United States in Geneva, which were led by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.