Russia and NATO to explore ways to cooperate on missile defense system

Russia and NATO to explore ways to cooperate on missile defense system

2010-11-16 04:33:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday said that Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed to explore ways to cooperate on a missile defense system.

The meeting is expected to take place in Lisbon on Friday and Saturday where leaders are expected to endorse a plan to mount a missile shield that will defend Europe from foreign ballistic missile attacks.

"I think we are witnessing a fresh start in the relationship between NATO and Russia, and maybe I could go further and say a fresh start in the relationship between Russia and the West," Rasmussen said. "I think this is of huge strategic importance."

Russia and NATO are intending to engage in a fresh start in the relationship between the two sides. On November 3, Rasmussen arrived to Moscow and met with President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the issue without reaching an agreement.

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.

NATO made intense efforts to convince Russia that the system was not aimed against the former Soviet power but rather to counter threats from other countries armed with ballistic missiles.

"We will decide at the NATO-Russia summit in Lisbon to initiate a joint analysis as to how missile defense cooperation could be implemented," Rasmussen said. "Cooperation would clearly demonstrate that this system is not directed against Russia."

The NATO-Russia cooperation that will be discussed at the Lisbon summit will include efforts to stabilizing Afghanistan in issues such as transit, counter-narcotics training and provision of helicopters for the Afghan armed forces. The sides will also discuss the Joint Review of 21st Century Common Security Challenges being finalized within the NRC framework.

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