West not to exchange Ukraine for Syria – Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in an interview with El Pais Spanish newspaper.

"We will not exchange Syria for Ukraine and vice versa. Russia is the country, which we cooperate with, particularly in the effort to reach the political settlement of these conflicts. We have never sought to isolate Russia," Stoltenberg said.

When asked about the threat of the Russian-Turkish conflict amid the deterioration of relations between the two countries, Stoltenberg said that "Russia has made it clear it does not want the military conflict with Turkey."

The Secretary General also noted that he would like Russia to play a more constructive role in fighting against ISIS, having repeated his earlier statement that the Russians generally attacked not the Islamic State.

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