West must be ready for long standoff with Russia - NATO official

OSLO (Reuters) - The West must be ready for a long standoff with Russia over Ukraine and not quickly resume normal ties as it did after the 2008 Georgian war, a top NATO official said on Monday.

"Our strategy has to be one of patience and consistency. Russia expects us to give up the sanctions and go back to business as usual, without changing its own conduct," Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said in a speech to the Leangkollen foreign policy conference in Oslo.