NATO's first formal meeting with Russia's envoy to the alliance in almost two years underscored the deep East-West divide over the Ukraine crisis and the future of Europe's security.

"NATO and Russia have profound and persistent differences," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who chaired the council, told reporters afterward. "Today's meeting didn't change that."

"It's better to talk than not to talk," said Russian Ambassador Alexander Grushko, who met with counterparts from NATO's ...