NATO's Secretary General Acknowledges Russia's Role in Settlement of Ukrainian Crisis
20:00 06/10/2014
WARSAW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - The new Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg has acknowledged the importance of Russia's role in the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday.
'It is important that Russia use all its influence to make sure that the cease-fire is also respected by the separatists,' Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Tomasz Siemoniak, and the country's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna.
Earlier on Monday, during an interview with the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Stoltenberg noted that there was no contradiction between NATO's strength and building a constructive relationship with Russia.
On Monday, Stoltenberg met with the President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski and the country's new Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz. NATO's Secretary General is also expected to visit an Air Force base in Lask.
Ukraine has been embroiled in violent internal conflict since mid-April, when Kiev began a military operation against independence supporters in the southeastern regions of the country. According to the latest UN estimates, over 3,600 people have died as a result of the conflict.
Relations between Russia and NATO have been strained since the alliance accused Russia of meddling in the Ukrainian situation, a claim that Russia has repeatedly denied.
On September 5, via the mediation of Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Kiev authorities and the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR) reached an agreement on a ceasefire.
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