NATO-Russia Talks Make Little Progress On Missile Defense
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
April 23, 2013
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says that the latest meeting of the NATO-Russia Council “maintained an active dialogue” but did not make significant progress on the key issue of missile defense.
NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels on April 23 and were joined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Lavrov said Moscow was studying changes to the U.S. missile-defense program, but still wanted guarantees that the system would not be used against Russia.
The NATO ministers earlier discussed the situation in Syria, and Rasmussen said the alliance was committed to protecting all of its members, including Turkey.
Rasmussen said NATO was “extremely concerned” about the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Lavrov said any reports that chemical weapons have been used in Syria should be investigated carefully, noting that prior allegations were proven wrong.
Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting.
Those talks were expected to focus on Syria, in the wake of Kerry’s recent visit to the Middle East. …
Read on: www.rferl.org/content/nato-foreign-ministers-meeting/24965761.html
