NATO, Russia discuss security issues

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Russian Defence Minister, Sergey Shoygu, are meeting here on Wednesday in the NATO-Russia Council format to review cooperation on security issues. "One of these issues is terrorism. NATO Allies and Russia work together to counter terrorism in the air and on the ground," said the NATO Chief in his opening remarks to the Council. He noted that a recent exercise, Vigilant Skies 2013, has improved their ability to respond to the hijacking of civilian planes and that both sides are successfully cooperating to develop a better means of preventing attacks against public transport systems. "We have also made important first steps towards greater transparency in our military activities. Last month, NATO officials observed the Russian and Belarusian exercise Zapad 2013. And next month, we expect to welcome Russian observers at Exercise Steadfast Jazz in Latvia and Poland," said the NATO chief. Rasmussen said that the joint NATO-Russian naval exercises have strengthened their efforts to deter piracy. "We have supported the security and stability of Afghanistan by expanding our counter-narcotics programme. We continue to discuss the important topic of Missile Defence. There is no agreement yet on how we should work together. But we all agree that further consultations are the way forward," he added.