BRUSSELS, Dec 19 — Nato today urged Russia to use its clout with insurgents in eastern Ukraine to make a troubled truce stick as both sides held new talks to defuse the worst tensions since the Cold War.

But Nato said gaps with Moscow remained wide as the alliance also raised "particular concern” over Russia’s use of snap military exercises near eastern Europe that it says fuels instability.

"Allies called on Russia to use its considerable influence on the militants to meet their commitments in full,” Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement after the ammbassador-level talks ended.

Under the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015, Moscow agreed to a ceasefire in Ukraine and to halt support for separatist pro-Russian rebels that have carved out an enclave in the east of the country.

Provisions call for the withdrawal of heavy weaponry in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

"Allies raised particular concern over the excessive use of snap exercises. These are destabilising,” he said.

He said many participants called for updating the Vienna Document on military exercises and activities.

In August Russia conducted a large-scale snap drill, putting its troops on full combat readiness in military districts bordering Ukraine and the Baltic States.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine surged over the summer after Moscow accused Kiev of attempting armed incursions into Crimea.

Ukraine and its Western allies have been locked in a bitter confrontation with Russia since Moscow seized the strategic region from Kiev in March 2014.

The third Nato Russia Council this year did not appear to bridge the divide—Stoltenberg said "our meeting does not indicate a return to business as usual.”

The NRC, which brings together ambassadors from the 28 Nato member countries and Russia, met regularly until the Ukraine crisis plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze in 2014.

US-led Nato has suspended all practical cooperation with Russia over its role in Ukraine but Stoltenberg has said political channels of communication have always remained open.

He says maintaining such contacts was crucial to avoiding any misunderstandings with Moscow at a time of increased tensions.

Stoltenberg gave no specific reason for convening the NRC today but there has been growing speculation a meeting was on the cards, stoked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s more conciliatory approach to Moscow.

Russian officials were not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday extended for another six months damaging economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis. — AFP