NATO Secretary-general Speaks At Russia's Diplomatic Academy

Post-conflict settlement in Afghanistan is "fertile soil for hands-on cooperation" between Russia and NATO, said NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, speaking on Thursday before students of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry. According to him, such cooperation could include intensive measures to render humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Robertson expressed confidence in a final victory over "global terrorism". According to him, in the mountains of southern Afghanistan Osama bin Laden and his backers from the Taliban are now trying to escape from inexorable retribution. "Equally important is the fact that throughout the world, from Chechnya to Iraq, from the Philippines to the Balkans, other terrorists have received a signal that no political motives or religious convictions can justify the killing of absolutely innocent people," Robertson emphasised.