The European Union (EU) has handed over official collective response to a letter by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed to European states on security in the region, Russia's diplomatic mission to the EU informed, TASS reported.

The diplomatic mission specified that the EU was responding to a message from Russia's Foreign Minister on the indivisibility of security, sent on 28 January, 2022 to the foreign ministers of some European countries, the US and Canada. Brussels said it did not intend to disclose the contents of the response. Lavrov had also previously addressed Latvia on security issues.

On 10 February, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that he had sent a letter to Lavrov inviting him to continue the series of meetings in the NATO-Russia Council.

Stoltenberg stressed that Moscow had a choice: either to stop its "aggression" against Ukraine and resolve the issue diplomatically, or get ready to impose harsh economic sanctions. The NATO chief also threatened that if Russia refused to meet, Western countries would send new military contingents to eastern Europe.