NATO plans holding the next session of the Russia-NATO Council at the level of ambassadors before the yearend but there is no definitive decision on it yet, an official at NATO headquarters told a news briefing on Wednesday on the eve of a conference of the alliance’s defense ministers, TASS reports.
He said he would be glad to name the date of the session if NATO had reached consent with Russian counterparts on the agenda but he confirmed discussions with Russia were underway and NATO had an intention to convene the meeting before the end of this year.
The official did not rule out NATO would raise the problem of Russian 9M729 missiles. The US and NATO claim they violate the provision of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The Russia-NATO Council held the previous session in May 2018.
Russia does not have an ambassador to NATO at the moment. The previous ambassador, Alexander Grushko, left Brussels at the beginning of the year to take up the position of Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister.