Klimkin got message from every NATO minister: alliance doesn't intend to restore practical cooperation with Russia

NATO does not intend to restore cooperation with Russia but intends to maintain a necessary level of engagement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"This is not a return to the old times. I received a message from each of the ministers that practical cooperation is not in question," he said at a press conference after the session of the Ukraine-NATO Commission in Brussels on Wednesday.

He said that maintaining a necessary level of communication, engagement, say, in the military sphere is in question.

"A big number of incidents involves Russian warplanes that violate the air space of many NATO member-countries and this is a concrete security threat. The incident with the Russian aircraft shot down by Turkish forces confirms that. Therefore interaction on military matters belongs to the terms of reference of the allies. But it is not a return to full-scale political cooperation. I received such assurances," Klimkin said.

Earlier NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance intends to explore how it could use the Russia-NATO Council as a tool for political engagement.