NATO-Russia special meeting on the crisis over Ukraine

The Western military alliance has been calling for a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months, concerned about the growing Russian military presence along the border with Ukraine. But the forum's meeting appeared in jeopardy after a disagreement in October over espionage issues.

The council meeting, a format used for dialogue since 2002, will be held in Brussels on January 12. It will be preceded by security talks between American and Russian officials in Geneva on January 10.

European Union chief diplomat Josep Borrell left for Ukraine on Tuesday for a two-day visit, a show of support for Kiev, which aspires to join the European bloc and NATO.

Moscow is seeking guarantees that NATO will halt its eastward expansion and end military cooperation with Ukraine and Georgia, which have territorial disputes with Russia.

Moscow has also rejected Washington's claims that it is planning an attack on Ukraine and accuses Kiev of increasing its military presence in the east of its territory.

"Any dialogue with Russia must proceed on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, address NATO's concerns about Russia's actions, and be conducted in consultation with the alliance's European partners," the NATO official said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that Russian officials will attend the NATO meeting in Brussels.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and other senior Russian officials are expected to participate in the talks to be held in Brussels, following their meeting in Geneva with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

On January 13, talks will continue in a broader format within the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the United States and its NATO allies, as well as Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states.

An EU spokesman said Mr Borrell, who has been one of the leading voices in the bloc's strategy to strengthen sanctions against senior Russian officials in 2021, believes that "the European Union cannot be a neutral spectator in negotiations if Russia really wants to discuss security issues in Europe."

The European Union sees Ukraine as a "strategic partner," the spokesman said.

During his visit to Ukraine, Mr Borrell, accompanied by the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, will visit Ukraine's point of contact with Russian-backed separatist rebels. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss their next steps later in January.