Russian Defence Minister On Mutual Understanding With NATO

NATO headquarters hosted a meeting of the Russia-NATO Joint Permanent Council on the level of defence ministers. As a matter of fact, they achieved mutual understanding on the key issues to be discussed within the framework of the twenty countries' format, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said adding that these issues are the fight against international terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We had to face these real threats and challenges but it turned out that we are not ready for them in the 21st century. According to Ivanov, almost all defence ministers supported these key issues. Russian servicemen will not join the international peace-making forces in Afghanistan, Sergei Ivanov stressed. But we are ready to provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan interim government. We have been doing it for a long time already, Ivanov said.