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| NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, briefing media persons on Tuesday (4th Dec) at NATO Headquarters in Brussels [PHOTO: © NATO/Special Arrangements] |
Brussels: Foreign ministers from NATO nations and Russia agreed to
increase their cooperation in 2013 during a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council
(NRC) on Tuesday (4 December).
The NRC was founded in 2002 and consists of the 28 NATO
Allies and Russia as equal members of the Council.
“We agreed on a reinforced programme of activities for next
year. It builds on our current cooperation, and explores new areas where we can
work together,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is chairman
of the NRC, said after the meeting.
NRC nations already cooperate in a number of areas, such as
supporting the Afghan Air Force helicopter fleet by providing spare parts and
training maintenance crews; training counter-narcotics officers from across
Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan; and cooperating to prevent terrorism.
“This is a good foundation for next year’s ambitious
agenda,” the Secretary General said.
Under the 2013 programme, the counter-narcotics project will
be expanded to include training for Afghan police women, and on the use of dogs
in the fight against drugs. The helicopter maintenance project will be extended to new types of
helicopter and new specialisations. The NRC will also consider cooperation on
the disposal of excess ammunition.
“These are all valuable projects, which can bring new vigour
to the NATO-Russia Council,” the Secretary General asserted.
NRC ministers also discussed Turkey’s request for NATO to augment
its air-defence capabilities, to help defend the population and territory of
Turkey, and to help de-escalate the crisis along NATO’s border.
Rasmussen further said, “In the spirit of transparency, I
called Minister Lavrov almost two weeks ago to raise this issue. In the same
spirit, I have just told him that I expect NATO to announce its decision today.”
“NATO’s position is clear: any deployment will be to protect
Turkey. It will be purely defensive in nature. It will in no way support a
no-fly zone or any offensive operation. It is a clear signal of NATO
solidarity,” he underlined.