OREANDA-NEWS. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is ready to hold a personal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss difficulties in relations between the alliance and Moscow. He stated this in an interview published on Monday with a news agency.

“If the framework conditions were suitable, then I would meet with President Putin”, Stoltenberg said. In his opinion, just at a time when there are difficulties in relations, it's important to sit at the negotiating table together. “Russia is our largest neighbor, so it will remain”, the NATO Secretary General stated. He believes that even if relations with Moscow don't improve in the foreseeable future, the alliance needs to be able to “manage” such relations.

All NATO countries must necessarily maintain a unified position on Russia, discussing the future of the alliance. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday at a press conference following a meeting of the foreign ministers of the bloc, answering the question of the call of the French president to establish relations with Russia.