NATO still has “clear disagreements” with Russia over the Ukraine crisis and expects Moscow to do more to rein in armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces, the Atlantic alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
The West slapped sanctions on Russia in 2014 over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and its support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine, in a conflict in which more than 10,000 people have been killed.
“Allies and Russia continue to have clear disagreements on the crisis in and around Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told a news conference after chairing a meeting of ambassadors from NATO and Russia in Brussels.
Intense fighting continues to rage in the industrial eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass despite a formal ceasefire, he said.
“Allies urged Russia to use its significant influence on the militants to meet their obligations in full, and raised serious concerns about Russia’s recognition of identity documents issued by the separatists, imposing the (Russian currency) rouble, and seizure of companies,” Stoltenberg added.
France and Germany were among NATO allies who criticised Moscow’s move in February to recognise the rebels’ documents.