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NATO is not trying to isolate Russia: Stoltenberg

Wednesday, 04 April 2018 4:43 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 04 April 2018 4:46 PM ]

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference after meeting with British Foreign Affairs State Secretary Boris Johnson (not in picture) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 19, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

NATO is not aiming to isolate Russia after a nerve agent attack on a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain last month but had to crack down to show its unhappiness with Moscow, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

The alliance last week expelled seven diplomats from the Russian mission to NATO and cut the maximum size of the delegation to 20 from 30 after the attack, which the West blames on Moscow although the Kremlin denies it.

"We continue to strive for a better relationship with Russia because Russia is our neighbor, Russia is there to stay. We are not aiming at isolating Russia," Stoltenberg said in remarks at the University of Ottawa.

Stoltenberg said NATO was concerned by a more assertive Russia that he said had annexed Crimea, destabilized eastern Ukraine, backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and meddled in the affairs of other nations.

"That was the reason why NATO allies and partners reacted the way they reacted after the attack in Salisbury. Because that is not a single event," he said. "It is an attack which has taken place (against) the backdrop of a pattern of hatred which we have seen over many years from Russia."