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NATO, Russia aim to step up military cooperation

23 September 2010 01:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. NATO and Russia hope to step up military cooperation, working for progress on both missile defense and conventional arms control by the time the Atlantic alliance holds its summit in November, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
Rasmussen, speaking after a session of the NATO-Russia joint ministerial council, acknowledged fundamental disagreements still divide Moscow and Western nations but said he was encouraged by the discussions so far.
"They were in the right spirit, they addressed the right issues and they made it clear that we truly are on a solid path now to improve NATO-Russian relations," Rasumssen told a news briefing.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier strongly endorsed NATO plans to build cooperation with Russia on missile defense, saying the alliance should endorse a plan by November to resume missile defense exercises and explore ways to link early warning systems.
"In the longer term, NATO and Russia should work together to develop models for a combined NATO-Russia missile defense architecture," Clinton said.
Repeating assurances the United States believes Russia should partner with the 28-member Western security alliance founded to counter the Soviet threat, Clinton outlined a raft of issues the two sides should work on together
"We believe that the best way to achieve this is by reinforcing the pillars that have supported European security for decades, not by negotiating new treaties, as Russia has suggested," Clinton said.
Rasmussen has invited Russia to hold talks with the NATO states at the alliance’s November summit in Lisbon.
U.S. and Russian ties have been slowly recovering since tensions over Russia’s 2008 war with the pro-Western former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Proponents say U.S. President Barack Obama’s effort to "reset" relations with Russia have helped win Moscow’s support for sanctions on Iran, fresh military supply routes for the Afghan war and a new U.S.-Russian arms reduction treaty.
However, many differences remain, including U.S. objections to what Washington regards as Russia’s "occupation" of Georgian territory and Moscow’s deep suspicions about U.S. plans for a missile defense system.
RUSSIA CAUTIOUS ON MISSILES
Moscow has been cautious about the missile plan, even though NATO has said the system is designed as protection against a perceived threat from Iran, not Russia.
Rasumussen said the first step should be for NATO members to agree among themselves on whether to form a territorial missile defense system and that Russia was being consulted as this process moves forward.
"I think such a decision should be accompanied by an invitation to Russia to cooperate," Rasmussen said.