"All the measures taken by the NATO are not threat to Russia," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement on Monday after the ambassadorial meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.

Welcoming the holding of the meeting, Rasmussen said, "now more than ever, it's important that we listen to one another and talk to one another."

NATO has suspended all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia over the Ukraine crisis since the Crimea referendum. However, it opted to keep their political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council.

While presenting NATO's position on Russian actions, he said, "all NATO allies made clear that we condemn the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea and allies will not recognize it."

"We call on Russia to withdraw its troops fully and verifiably from Ukraine's border, with additional international inspections," he said, adding that "we urge Russia to engage constructively with the Ukraine's newly elected President."

Rasmussen said all the measures that NATO is taking are defensive, moderate, proportionate, transparent, and fully compliant with international commitments. "They are not a threat to Russia and NATO is not a threat to Russia," he said. Endi

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