NATO Secretary General makes a statement on Ukraine and Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is cautiously optimistic about Moscow's signals to continue diplomatic efforts on the situation around Ukraine.

"But so far we haven't seen any signs of de-escalation directly in Ukraine", he said at a press conference ahead of a meeting of the Alliance's defense ministers on February 16-17 in Brussels.

He further noted that these signs are imperceptible even after Russia’s announcement of the end of the exercise.

In turn, according to the head of the alliance, NATO is ready to hold a series of meetings with the Russian Federation on Ukraine and arms control.

Stoltenberg stressed that NATO wanted to see the withdrawal of Russian heavy weapons from the Ukrainian borders, TASS reports.