BRUSSELS
NATO announced Tuesday that it has suspended "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia over its annexation of Crimea, which was condemned as "illegitimate" by the United States and the European Union.
"We have decided to suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia," the bloc said in a joint statement by foreign ministers following a meeting in Brussels.
"Our political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council can continue, as necessary, at the ambassadorial level and above, to allow us to exchange views, first and foremost on this crisis."
The alliance called on Russia to take immediate steps to comply with international law as the bloc plans to review its relations with the country in a meeting with Russian officials scheduled for June.
NATO also urged Moscow to reduce the number of Russian troops in Crimea, to withdraw them from its bases there and to reduce military exercises along its border with Ukraine to ease tension.
The alliance said they would implement immediate and longer-term measures to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to provide for its own security, adding it would accelerate cooperation with Ukraine and promote defense reforms.
Russia unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula after taking control of the region on February 26-27 when armed gunmen, believed to be Russian Special Forces, seized the regional parliament and the capital Simferopol's airport.
In a controversial referendum held on March 16, Crimea voted to secede from Kiev in favor of unification with Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill that officially incorporated Crimea into the Russian Federation on March 21.
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