Russian Foreign Minister: Moscow, Brussels Poised For U-turn In Relations

Russia and NATO are poised for a U-turn in their relationship, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told a news conference on Friday following a session of the Russia-NATO Permanent Joint Council (PJC). He said the decision was made by the participants in the PJC session, adding the result of this breakthrough could be characterised as joint account for for jointly made decisions. The Minister believes that, if the project is realised, -- something "Russia has the necessary political will for" -- "we will be much closer to the implementation of the major task," that is "the construction of a stable and predictable new security system in the Euro-Atlantic space." He said Russia and NATO are effectively taking upon themselves a "serious responsibility for the fate of the European continent." He went on to stress that "our reciprocal steps must be coordinated and carefully calculated."