NATO sees “reason for cautious optimism” about a peaceful way out of the heated conflict with Russia.
The Western alliance sees favourable signals from Moscow, though Russian military pressure on Ukraine has not yet eased, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.
Russia announced the departure of some of its troops in the border region on Tuesday morning. They would have completed their exercises and returned to their army camps elsewhere in the country.
A day earlier, the Kremlin made it clear that it still wants to look for a diplomatic solution.