No breakthrough in Ukraine meeting, but NATO and Russia might ...

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, center, and Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, to his left, arrive for the NATO-Russia Council at NATO headquarters, in Brussels on Wednesday.BRUSSELS — The United States and NATO rejected key Russian security demands for easing tensions over Ukraine but left open Wednesday the possibility of future talks with Moscow on arms control, missile deployments and ways to prevent military incidents between Russia and the West.The decisions came at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the first of its kind in over two years. Russia denies that it has fresh plans to attack its neighbor and in turn accuses the West of threatening its security by positioning military personnel and equipment in Central and Eastern Europe.While noting that "escalation does not create optimum conditions for diplomacy, to say the least," Sherman also expressed optimism following the Brussels meeting given that Moscow did not dismiss the idea of further talks.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who chaired the meeting, said NATO nations and Russian envoys both "expressed the need to resume dialogue and to explore a schedule of future meetings." Stoltenberg said NATO is keen to discuss ways to prevent dangerous military incidents or accidents involving Russia and the Western allies, reducing space and cyber threats, as well as setting limits on missile deployments and other arms control initiatives.But Stoltenberg said any talks about Ukraine wouldn't be easy.