Russian Foreign Minister Advocates Russia's Participation In Making Decisions Within Russia-NATO Cooperation

Russia and NATO proceed from the fact that improving the quality of Russia-NATO cooperation should create such a mechanism, which would allow Russia to participate in all stages of decision-making and their further fulfilment, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov reported. He took part in today's meeting in the Kremlin between the Russian President and NATO Secretary General George Robertson. According to Ivanov, creation of the "new format of 'twenty'" does not mean renunciation of the format "19 plus one." The minister stressed that the Russia-NATO Founding Act and the Joint Permanent Council set up on its basis "continue to remain an important instrument of rapprochement of stances" of Russia and the North-Atlantic Alliance.