NATO Ready for New Russia-NATO Council Talks, Not War

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is not preparing for war with Russia, Acting Director of NATO Information Office in Moscow Robert Pszczel said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – NATO is ready for dialogue with Moscow where possible, including by holding another round of Russia-NATO Council, he said.

"Not only are we not preparing for war [with Russia], we are getting ready for dialogue where it is possible. For example, we are ready for the next Russia-NATO Council," Pszczel said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 broadcaster.

The acting director reiterated NATO’s stance that "exceptionally all" of the Western military alliance’s drill scenarios "are purely defensive in nature."

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

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would like to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council before the alliance's July summit in the Polish capital of Warsaw. The Warsaw NATO Summit 2016 will take place on July 8-9, with members of the alliance set to discuss increasing military activities on NATO's eastern flank.