Key for better NATO-Russia relations lies with Moscow, Germany says

[June 01, 2021]    BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO is ready for dialogue with Russia, but the ball is in Moscow's court, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Tuesday.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas gives a news conference in Berlin, Germany May 28, 2021 after Germany recognised for the first time that it had committed genocide in Namibia during its colonial occupation and agreed to fund projects worth over a billion euros. Tobias Schwarz/Pool via REUTERS

"Our message remains clear: We are prepared for dialogue, and we have made proposals, but the key to a better relationship lies clearly with Moscow," Maas told reporters before a video conference with his NATO counterparts.

NATO has repeatedly suggested a resumption of meetings in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). The body was created in 2002 to facilitate consultation between the Western military alliance and Moscow, but relations are strained and the council last met in July 2019.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold)

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