Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, January 26, 2022

NATO chief says reaching out to Russia but ‘prepared for worst’

By AFP 26 January 2022, 9:35 pm 0 Edit

NATO allies have made proposals for a diplomatic solution to tensions triggered by Russia’s military build-up near Ukraine but remain “prepared for the worst,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says.

“We are now reaching out to Russia once again to try to pursue a path of dialogue and find a political solution,” he says, after the alliance sent Moscow a written response to its security demands.

“But of course while we are hoping for and working for a good solution, de-escalation, we are also prepared for the worst,” he adds.

A serviceman stands in a trench on the territory controlled by pro-Russian militants near the frontline with Ukrainian government forces in Slavyanoserbsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, on January 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)