Russia to work out bilateral agreements on salvage of submarine crews

Russia is consulting a number of countries concerning bilateral agreements on salvage of submarine crews, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told a session of the Russia-NATO Council, which opened at the level of ambassadors on Tuesday.

Reminding the assembly that Russia and NATO had signed a framework document on salvage of submarine crews in Munich in February, Ivanov said Russia was ready to conclude bilateral agreements with Britain, Norway, Germany, the USA, France, and probably some other countries.

"The signing of a framework document lays down the legal foundation for cooperation in this sphere and allows Russia to gain broad interaction experience," he stressed.

Further on, the defence minister praised the progress of fulfilling a plan of events the Russia-NATO Council had laid down for 2003. In his opinion, the plan "displays the wideness of Moscow's and the alliance's approach to future cooperation."