Russia assures NATO of partnership: NATO chief

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 10, 2003

Russia assures NATO of partnership: NATO chief

NATO Secretary General George Robertson said on Thursday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov assured him that Moscow regards NATO as a partner and not an offensive alliance.

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NATO Secretary General George Robertson said on Thursday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov assured him that Moscow regards NATO as a partner and not an offensive alliance.

"They do not regard NATO as being an offensive organization, they regard NATO as a partner," Robertson told reporters after meeting with Ivanov on the last day of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in the US state of Colorado.

Last week, a document released by the Russian Defense Ministry said Moscow will reassess its military planning and nuclear missile strategy if NATO continues what it called an offensive military doctrine.

Robertson said Ivanov told him the report is inaccurate. "It does not seem to me to be accurate for anyone in Russia to say NATO is aggressive, offensive or anti-Russia," he noted.

However, the Russian defense minister said that "Russia still regards nuclear weapons as a means of political deterrent."

Speaking at a news conference after meeting counterparts from NATO, Ivanov added that he was concerned about NATO deployments near its borders. Russia was increasing military deployments in former Soviet states.

The NATO chief said his talks with Ivanov included plans for joint exercises and military liaison missions in Russia and NATO countries.

NATO expanded to the Russian borders in 1999 when Poland joined.The alliance plans to welcome the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) next year. Russia considers the Baltics part of the former Soviet Union.

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