NATO schedules special meeting with Russia amid Ukraine crisis

BRUSSELS, Jan 4 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has scheduled a special meeting of allied ambassadors and top Russian officials for next week as both sides seek dialogue to prevent open conflict over Ukraine, a NATO official said on Tuesday.

Alarmed by Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s border, the Western military alliance has been seeking a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council for months but the forum seemed in jeopardy after an espionage dispute in October.  

The meeting of the council, a format used for dialogue since 2002, will take place in Brussels on Jan. 12 after U.S. and Russian officials hold security talks on Jan. 10 
in Geneva.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, flew to Ukraine on Tuesday for a two-day trip to show support for Kyiv, which aspires to join the bloc and NATO. 
In preparation for next week’s diplomacy,  NATO foreign ministers will hold a video conference on Friday at 1300 GMT, chaired by Stoltenberg, the alliance said in a statement.