Nato Secretary-general Briefs Canadian And Us Leaders On His Meeting With Russian President

During his visit to Canada and the US on October 8-11, Lord George Robertson, NATO Secretary-General, briefed top leaders of these countries on the meeting he had in Brussels on October 3 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a ranking official of the organization, who accompanied Robertson on his overseas trip, told journalists at NATO headquarters on Friday. Commenting on the meeting, the NATO spokesman said that NATO and the US both agree that Russia is eager to cooperate with the alliance and its members. NATO, for its part, would also like to develop close cooperation with Moscow. The task is how to do this best in the interests of all sides. Experts, the spokesman believes, should hold intensive consultations on what should be done to promote peace, prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and coordinate rescue operations. According to the NATO spokesman, Putin was "absolutely clear" when, speaking in Brussels, he signaled that Russia would never greet the alliance's expansion, and his stand on that issue is unchanged. The North Atlantic alliance, however, intends to persuade and reassure the Russians that the process carries no threat to them, the NATO official noted. The alliance wants to have good relations with Russia and there is a raft of interesting proposals whose implementation might yield good results, the NATO spokesman emphasized.