Moscow hopes this year to strike an unprecedented deal with NATO, which would allow Cold War foes to deploy combat units on each other's territories, Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russia's defense chief as saying on Sunday.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov's statement, made in Oslo, contrasted sharply with previous remarks in which he said Russia might review its NATO-friendly military stance if the alliance did not change its "offensive" nature.
"This year I hope we will sign an agreement with NATO on the status of forces," Tass quoted Ivanov as saying.
"The document will allow NATO units equipped with armor onto our territory and our units equipped with armor onto the territory of alliance countries," he said, adding that it would be part of Russia and NATO's joint fight against terrorism.
The deal, if signed, would be a new step in post-Cold War cooperation between Russia and NATO, strongly promoted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a part of his strive to strengthen ties with the West.
In 2001, Russia joined the US-led "war on terror" and backed a military operation in Afghanistan, allowing a fly-through route for NATO planes and the use of its railways for the alliance's cargo.
Moscow also encouraged its Central Asian ex-Soviet allies -- Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan -- to allow a NATO military presence during the Afghan operation.
In a further signal of seeking closer ties with NATO, Ivanov said Russia did not rule out joint navy patrols in the Mediterranean Sea to intercept illegal migrants and unspecified "dangerous cargo."
But Ivanov, quoted by Tass, said joint patrols were only possible "with strict adherence to international law and the framework of Russian legislation," in a clear reference to Moscow's opposition to US plans to intercept ships suspected of being used by "international terrorists."
Despite the partnership with NATO, Russia felt uncomfortable last week when the alliance moved closer to its borders, adopting the three ex-Soviet Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, some of which have strained relations with Moscow.
Moscow has said it saw no reason for the expansion other than to encircle Russia -- something NATO officials deny.
In an article, published last month by respected magazine Russia in Global Affairs, Ivanov accused NATO of maintaining an anti-Russian bias and an "offensive military doctrine."
He said Moscow might rethink its military position if the alliance failed to transform itself into a largely political, rather than military, organization.
The state Duma said on Wednesday that it would advise Putin to "adopt appropriate measures to safely guarantee Russia's security" if NATO ignored Moscow's concerns.
However, in a move signaling Moscow's acceptance of the inevitable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met NATO counterparts in Brussels on Friday.
At that meeting, the flags of the seven new members of NATO were raised for the first time at NATO's headquarters.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
‘EAST SHIELD’: State-run Belma said it would produce up to 6 million mines to lay along Poland’s 800km eastern border, and sell excess to nations bordering Russia and Belarus Poland has decided to start producing anti-personnel mines for the first time since the Cold War, and plans to deploy them along its eastern border and might export them to Ukraine, the deputy defense minister said. Joining a broader regional shift that has seen almost all European countries bordering Russia, with the exception of Norway, announce plans to quit the global treaty banning such weapons, Poland wants to use anti-personnel mines to beef up its borders with Belarus and Russia. “We are interested in large quantities as soon as possible,” Deputy Minister of National Defense Pawel Zalewski said. The mines would be part
RSS