"To alleviate all these concerns and problems we need to renew military cooperation. [NATO Secretary General] Jens Stoltenberg yesterday, surrounded by his deputies, did not say that NATO is prepared for that and that's regrettable because without practical cooperation any words by diplomats can bring no added value there, in regard to solving the security issues," Lavrov said at the Munich Security Conference.
NATO-Russia relations deteriorated sharply in 2014, following the beginning of an internal conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia. NATO suspended all civil and military cooperation with Moscow and has been building up its military presence in Europe, particularly in eastern European countries bordering Russia, citing Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine.
