BRUSSELS, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – NATO has proposed May 27 as a date for a NATO-Russia Council meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, a source in the alliance told RIA Novosti on Monday.
“The Russians have proposed a meeting to discuss the situation in Ukraine,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
“We have suggested May 27 as a date and now we are awaiting their answer,” the source said.
Tensions between Russia and the West became strained after a regime change in February when the Ukrainian parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and scheduled early presidential elections for May 25.
On April 1, NATO ended all practical cooperation with Russia over Ukraine. The foreign ministers of NATO members are to review relations with Moscow at their next meeting in June.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a monthly news conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels that the alliance was open for political dialogue and indicated a possibility of a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council next week.
The NATO chief voiced concerns about the situation in eastern Ukraine earlier this month, stressing that Russia’s decision to intervene in the country will turn out to be a historic mistake that could lead to the country’s international isolation.