NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is set to hold formal talks with Russia shortly after a summit in Warsaw this week, which is expected to deepen tensions with Moscow.
The NATO-Russia Council last met in April -- after a hiatus of almost two years -- but the talks ended in "profound disagreements" over Ukraine and other issues.
"The NATO-Russia Council has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue" and could "increase predictability," Stoltenberg told reporters on July 4, ahead of the two-day summit that starts on July 8.
"That is why we are working with Russia to hold another meeting of the council shortly after the summit," he added.
The secretary-general said the alliance and Russia weren't able to agree to hold a meeting before the summit, as NATO had wanted.
Among other issues, the Warsaw summit is expected to discuss the deployment of four 1,000-strong battalions in Poland and former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, beefing up NATO's presence closer to Russia's borders.
Relations between NATO and Russia have reached their lowest point since the Cold War over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its role in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine.
NATO-Russia Meeting Expected After Warsaw Summit
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance and Russia weren't able to agree to hold a meeting before the summit, as NATO had wanted.