Kiev. February 11. INTERFAX-UKRAINE - The leaders of the United States and their Western allies, following a virtual meeting on the situation around Ukraine, noted the reality of the military conflict in Europe, while emphasizing the importance of continuing dialogue with Russia, NATO said in a statement following the talks.
"Participants (...) We have confirmed that we are ready to continue the dialogue with Russia," the statement said on Friday.
The NATO Secretary General warned that the risk of conflict in Europe is real, and welcomed the recent deployment by NATO allies of additional defensive structures in the eastern part of the Alliance.
The initiator of the virtual meeting was US President Joe Biden. It was attended by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, as well as European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Stoltenberg announced talks on strengthening the defensive position of NATO defense ministers of the Union countries next week.
