BRUSSELS: NATO on Monday urged Russia to use its clout with insurgents in eastern Ukraine to make a troubled truce stick, as the two sides held talks to defuse the worst tensions since the Cold War.
But NATO said gaps with Moscow remained wide as the alliance also raised “particular concern” over Russia’s use of snap military exercises near eastern Europe that it says fuels instability.
“Allies called on Russia to use its considerable influence on the militants to meet their commitments in full,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement after the ambassador-level talks ended in Brussels.
Under the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015, Moscow agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine and to halt support for separatist pro-Russian rebels that have carved out an enclave in the east of the country.
Provisions in the ceasefire deal call for the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
“Allies raised particular concern over the excessive use of snap exercises. These are destabilising,” Stoltenberg said.
He added that many participants in the talks called for updating the OSCE’s Vienna Document on military exercises and activities.
Russian ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko repeated accusations against Kiev, saying it was breaching the peace agreements.
“We pointed at the violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian military forces, their use of artillery systems forbidden by the Minsk agreements and the presence of heavy equipment in ‘the security zone’,” he said.
“We called on the… members to exert their influence on the Kiev authorities to encourage them to proceed from the de facto sabotage of the political process to real actions.”
