Europe

NATO-Russia Council meeting for 1st time since 2014

Associated Press
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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addresses the media after a NATO-Russia Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday April 20, 2016. The NATO-Russia Council is meeting for the first time since 2014, with the U.S.-led alliance planning to object to what it deems provocative and dangerous actions by the Russian military. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday’s meeting should discuss improving “mechanisms of risk reduction related to military activities.” (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

Russian ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, talks with journalists after a NATO-Russia Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday April 20, 2016. The NATO-Russia Council is meeting for the first time since 2014, with the U.S.-led alliance planning to object to what it deems provocative and dangerous actions by the Russian military. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday’s meeting should discuss improving “mechanisms of risk reduction related to military activities.” (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg addresses the media after a NATO-Russia Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday April 20, 2016. The NATO-Russia Council is meeting for the first time since 2014, with the U.S.-led alliance planning to object to what it deems provocative and dangerous actions by the Russian military. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday’s meeting should discuss improving “mechanisms of risk reduction related to military activities.” (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) (The Associated Press)

The NATO-Russia Council is meeting for the first time in nearly two years, with the U.S.-led alliance planning to object to what it deems provocative and dangerous actions by Moscow's military.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday's meeting at alliance headquarters is being held to exchange views on Ukraine and other issues, but also to discuss improving "mechanisms of risk-reduction related to military activities."

Last week, U.S. officials accused Russian warplanes of repeatedly buzzing a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea, coming as close as 30 feet. Russia's Defense Ministry rejected the U.S. complaints.

The NATO-Russia Council was founded in 2002 as a forum for consultations between the former Cold War foes, but last met in June 2014, when the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine sent relations with the West into the deep freeze.