NATO Secretary-General and Russian President discuss missile defense cooperation plan

NATO Secretary-General and Russian President discuss missile defense cooperation plan

2010-11-04 00:30:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

MOSCOW, RUSSIA (BNO NEWS) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in order to discuss the European missile defense cooperation plan among other issues.

NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen arrived to Moscow ahead of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) summit on November 20 in Lisbon, Portugal. Rasmussen met with Medvedev in order to discuss the Euro missile-defense project and Russia's possible involvement in it.

During the meeting, Rasmussen gave the NATO's proposals for a joint participation in the European missile defense program to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who said that they will analyze the plan in order to determine if it serves both sides' interests to neutralize common threats.

After the meeting with the two Russian leaders, Rasmussen expressed his satisfaction over the desire of Medvedev to use the NRC summit to generate a fresh start for the NATO-Russia partnership. NATO Secretary-General added that during the meeting other topics were also discussed.

"The time has come for a fresh start for NATO-Russia relations," said Rasmussen. "The Lisbon Summit of the NATO-Russia Council is the place to make a fresh start. I am confident that the Summit will deliver, to the benefit of all 29 countries in the NRC - on Afghanistan, on fighting terrorism and proliferation, and, I hope, on missile defense."

The talks focused on NATO-Russia cooperation in order to stabilizing Afghanistan in issues such as transit, counter-narcotics training and provision of helicopters for the Afghan armed forces. The leaders also discussed the Joint Review of 21st Century Common Security Challenges being finalized within the NRC framework.

"NATO does not see Russia as an enemy. We see Russia as a partner of strategic importance. We want to do more with you to make our world safer, on the basis of trust, confidence and reciprocity."

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