Vladimir Putin: What can NATO do without Russia? Nothing!

NATO and the Russian Federation have not managed to attain spectacular developments regarding the issues on which they have different opinions. Anyway the talks within the NATO-Russia Committee have run in a constructive environment, NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Schefer has said at the end of the reunion. At a news conference held an hour later Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the relationships with NATO will depend on the degree to which Russia’s interests are taken into account, Info-Prim Neo’s correspondent accredited at the Bucharest summit reports. “NATO’s expansion is an issue on which we and Russia have different opinions, but I would not describe the atmosphere as a confrontation”, said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Speaking on Kosovo, the secretary general has said the debates should go on and that Russia should understand that NATO’s role is not to recognize Kosovo’s status, but to insure the citizens’ safety in the territory. Speaking on the agreements reached, the secretary general has mentioned Afghanistan. De Hoop Scheffer has said he has signed an agreement to support the ISAF troops in Afghanistan with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The agreement implicitly provides for carrying goods to Afghanistan via the Russian territory. “We have managed to attain development in political talks and practical commitments”, the Russian President has said about the reunion’s achievements. Vladimir Putin has underlined the initiatives of cooperation within the air space, in fighting terrorism, in preventing catastrophes and drugs smuggling. There is also progress concerning the operability of Russia’s and NATO’s forces. “All these show we’re ready to continue the relationships. Everything yet depends on how Russia’s interests are observed”, the Russian President specified. Commenting on the statements made by NATO officials that the Alliance’s expansion is not a danger for Russia, Vladimir Putin has said he will not be persuaded by promises and will make no compromise when the question is about his country’s security’s interests. Speaking on the invitation to cooperate within the missile-defense system, Putin has shown himself unhappy that Russia’s proposal to assure equal access to manage the system to Russia, the USA and to other European countries, and setting up two info-exchange centers in Brussels and Moscow was not backed up. The Russian President has assessed as non-sense the statements that NATO’s expansion implies the democratization of joining countries, a thing not menacing Russia’s interests. “It’s a thesis I cannot understand. Does this mean the states not members of the alliance cannot be democratic?” was the rhetoric of the Russian President. “The Soviet Union is not any more. Against whom does NATO exist? What can NATO do without Russia? Nothing!” concluded Vladimir Putin.