(VOVworld) – Russia–NATO cooperation should not be frozen, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press briefing in Berlin on Wednesday after talks with visiting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and NATO Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg. Photo: Reuters

She voiced her support for NATO members fulfilling the commitments of an agreement NATO and Russia signed in Paris in 1997. Stoltenberg told the press that NATO is ready to consider Ukraine’s request to join the bloc when NATO receives an official request from Kiev, but said Ukraine’s road to NATO membership could be long.