The secretary general of the United States flatly rejected Moscow's demands never to add Ukraine to its ranks, and Russia's deputy foreign minister warned that the situation was "very dangerous".

However, both sides expressed hope that progress could be made in some areas.

Representatives of NATO and Russia held talks in Brussels yesterday in an attempt to neutralize the threat of war in Eastern Europe, but the gap between their positions was more pronounced after four hours of discussions on the crisis that began following the concentration of large Russian forces near Ukraine. 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was ready to negotiate with Moscow on arms control and missile deployment in order to avoid the risk of war in Europe, but flatly rejected its most basic demand - to ensure Ukraine never joins the alliance. 

"There is a real danger of a new armed conflict in Europe," the secretary general said at a news conference. "There are significant gaps between NATO allies and Russia. It will not be easy to bridge them."