NATO Should Avoid Escalation With Russia in Warsaw Summit's Decisions - NGO

NATO should prevent conflict escalation with Russia while making decisions at the upcoming Alliance's Warsaw summit, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A NATO summit due to be held at the National Stadium in Warsaw is scheduled for July 8-9.

"The alliance must seek to avoid escalating tensions and drifting toward a new confrontation with Russia when taking steps at the Warsaw summit to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense posture and reassure allies," the NTI said in a report.

NATO has been reinforcing its military presence in Europe, particularly in Eastern European states, since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, citing Russia's alleged interference in that conflict as justification for the move. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations, calling NATO's military build-up near Russia’s borders a provocation.

NTI is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 by CNN founder Ted Turner to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction.