Russia Calls on NATO to Expand Security Cooperation

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 24, 2001

Russia Calls on NATO to Expand Security Cooperation

Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo on Friday called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to step up cooperation with Russia in security matters.

Russian Security Council Secretary Vladimir Rushailo on Friday called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to step up cooperation with Russia in security matters.

Comprehensive cooperation with NATO remains a major field of Russian foreign policy, Rushailo told visiting NATO Secretary- General George Robertson during a meeting at the Kremlin. The cooperation might become a significant factor in consolidating stability, he said. Defense policy and security issues must be clearly differentiated in Russian-NATO relations, as defense issues are the alliance's internal affairs and Russia is self-sufficient in this field, Rushailo said.

The top priority at the present stage is to expand cooperation in the field of security, or countering new challenges and threats such as terrorism, organized crime and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Cooperation is also needed in peacekeeping operations and dealing with the consequences of emergencies, he stressed.

In this field, the formula of 19 plus 1 must give a way to full- fledged cooperation of all 20 countries, he said. NATO-Russian relations need significant improvement, and creative approaches must be worked out to expanding relations in terms of the content as well as the format, as Russia and NATO face now a common enemy, terrorism, Robertson told the press following his meeting with Rushailo.

Numerous proposals on this matter that have been made by national leaders of NATO member states have and will come up for discussion during this visit to Russia, said Robertson, who arrived in Russia on Wednesday for a three-day visit.

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