Russia-NATO Security Conference to Convene in Moscow, December 9

A Russia-NATO conference on issues pertaining to security will be held in Moscow, on December 9. This is according to Rolf Welberts, director of NATO's Moscow bureau. He made this statement at a conference on security in the Baltic Sea region.

Mr. Welberts said a similar conference had been held some time back in Rome. It was attended by NATO's Secretary General Lord George Robertson and Sergei Ivanov, Russia's Defence Minister. Mr. Welberts pointed out that to NATO cooperation with Russia was a matter of special significance. The value of this cooperation, he said, had been verified by practical activities such as the joint manoeuvres, keeping peace in the Balkans, etc. 'The terrorist attacks that have occurred throughout the world', Mr. Welberts said, 'once again demonstrated that Russia and NATO are connected by more things than divided'.

The Russia-NATO conference is organised by the Centre of Integration Research and Projects, St. Petersburg's Strategy humanitarian centre for political science, and supported by NATO's Moscow bureau and the Plenipotentiary of the President of Russia in the North-Western Federal District. It will last two days and be attended by analysts from Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.