#15
Official says Russia's goal to cooperate with NATO
By Ksenia Kaminskaya

MOSCOW, January 1 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's goal is to establish efficacious cooperation with NATO rather than seek a transformation of that alliance into some kind of a political structure, Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Chizhov said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass Wednesday.

"There is every ground to believe that NATO will remain a union of countries with a strong military underpinning in the foreseeable future," Chizhov said.

"Russia will make practical efforts to help it turn from a structure of the Cold War era to the one that is fighting with the global challenges of our time - a realistic plan that has become possible after the emergence of the Russia-NATO council," Chizhov said.

He noted at the same time that Russia would certainly welcome a situation where could NATO turn into a political organization, as it would take many security issues off the agenda.

"Progress in the field of crisis management has brought about a general endorsement of the concept of Russia-NATO peacekeeping operations," Chizhov said.

He pointed to progress of relations between the Russian and NATO military systems. "The two sides are close to signing a memorandum on salvage of submarines in distress and they are also moving forward with a project of a Theater Anti-Ballistic Missile system in Europe," Chizhov said.

"Russia and NATO have clear prospects of cooperation in the defense system reform and in air traffic controls," he indicated.

"A Russia-NATO ambassadorial council is due to meet in session in Brussels later this month, and meetings at the level of Joint Chiefs of Staff, defense ministers, and foreign ministers will be held in May and June," Chizhov said.

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