OREANDA-NEWS. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to be transparent about it's military activity and reduce tension near the Ukrainian border. According to him, the Russian Federation has never shown the desire and ability to use military force against Ukraine.

According to Stoltenberg, the military activity of the Russian Federation was visible in 2014 after the «illegal annexation of the Crimea», and then in the Donbass. «None of us should speculate too much, but the fact is that we see an unusual concentration of Russian military forces, and we have seen that Russia in the past has shown readiness to use these forces against it's neighbors, such as Ukraine and Georgia», the NATO Secretary General said at a press conference following talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

Earlier, Stoltenberg said that Russia should not be afraid of Ukraine joining the Alliance. He also noted that Moscow will not be able to prevent this. In turn, Kuleba noted that Ukraine can become a member of NATO before it joins the European Union. He also stressed that Kiev is not interested in Moscow's opinion on this issue.