DHAKA: Nato is not seeing a Russian troop pullout from the border with Ukraine, the military alliance’s chief has said.

Speaking ahead of a Nato summit, Anders Fogh Rasmussen again stressed that the best way to solve the crisis was through ‘a political dialogue’, reports the BBC.

Nato foreign ministers are due to discuss ways to help Ukraine and reassure allies in Eastern Europe at the meeting in Brussels.

This comes after Russia’s takeover last month of Ukraine’s Crimea region.

It is the first time ministers from the 28 member states of the alliance have convened since the annexation of Crimea.

Nato has also bolstered air drills to be held over the Baltic states.

On Monday, Russian president Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel he had ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian troops near the eastern border of Ukraine, according to the German government.

Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of soldiers there in recent days, causing alarm in Kiev and the West.

BDST: 1714 HRS, APR 01, 2014