- Joined
- Mar 22, 2015
- Location
- Untied States of America
Russia will restore the former format of relations with NATO, including within the Russia-NATO Council, within a couple of years, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle on Wednesday.
"We wouldn't want that cooperation [between Russia and NATO] to remain prehistoric. We believe that there is history, and there is the present. But I am sure that very soon, there will also be a future," he said. "And I am sure that we will restore our relationship with NATO and we will return to the wonderful form of cooperation that is the Russia-NATO Council."
"I think that it will happen in the next year or two at most,» he added.
As for the Russia-Belarus joint military exercise Zapad-2017 (West-2017) that are to kick off on Thursday, they are of purely defense nature, he stressed.
"I can calm our dear neighbors straightaway. The exercise is absolutely peaceful, and absolutely defensive in nature. In this case, the ‘West’ isn't to be taken in the broad, political sense of the geographic term as the countries of the West, of the European Union or the members of NATO. The term ‘West’ designates west of the Russian Federation and of Belarus - which is even further west than Russia," Fomin noted. "There are no plans for any sort of invasion into the territory of neighboring countries. The main goal of the exercise is to practice relevant strategies for the battle against terrorism and to practice the use of the armed forces for that battle."
http://tass.com/defense/965537
"We wouldn't want that cooperation [between Russia and NATO] to remain prehistoric. We believe that there is history, and there is the present. But I am sure that very soon, there will also be a future," he said. "And I am sure that we will restore our relationship with NATO and we will return to the wonderful form of cooperation that is the Russia-NATO Council."
"I think that it will happen in the next year or two at most,» he added.
As for the Russia-Belarus joint military exercise Zapad-2017 (West-2017) that are to kick off on Thursday, they are of purely defense nature, he stressed.
"I can calm our dear neighbors straightaway. The exercise is absolutely peaceful, and absolutely defensive in nature. In this case, the ‘West’ isn't to be taken in the broad, political sense of the geographic term as the countries of the West, of the European Union or the members of NATO. The term ‘West’ designates west of the Russian Federation and of Belarus - which is even further west than Russia," Fomin noted. "There are no plans for any sort of invasion into the territory of neighboring countries. The main goal of the exercise is to practice relevant strategies for the battle against terrorism and to practice the use of the armed forces for that battle."
http://tass.com/defense/965537
