Foreign Minister Aivis Ronis supports NATO Secretary General's vision for further development of NATO-Russia relationship
On 22 September, Foreign Minister Aivis Ronis participated in the Meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of Foreign Ministers in New York City, USA, during which Foreign Ministers from NATO member countries and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the co-operation perspectives between the Alliance and Russia. The idea was discussed of holding the NATO-Russia Council Summit on 20 November in Lisbon, parallel to the annual meeting of the heads of state and government from NATO member countries.
The Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the member countries set the agenda of the NATO-Russia relationship which includes the appraisal of common threats for NATO and Russia, practical co-operation in stabilizing Afghanistan and in combating terrorism, piracy and illegal drug trade, as well as preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Foreign Minister Aivis Ronis expressed Latvia's support to NATO Secretary General's vision concerning further development of the NATO-Russia relations, also including ideas for the proceedings of the NATO-Russia Council in Lisbon. Minister Ronis expressed appreciation of a number of proposals by the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov for the future development of the NATO-Russia partnership, for instance, expanding co-operation in order to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan. At the same time, Foreign Minister Ronis, similarly to the NATO Secretary General and foreign ministers from other member countries, indicated that all parties should also be aware of differing opinions which exist in the relations with Russia, including the views on Georgia's territorial integrity and the approach to solutions for the situation in the territory of Transnistria in Moldova. On 22 September in New York City, during the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly a meeting was held between the European Union’s Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov. The parties discussed the upcoming OSCE Summit in December in Astana, Kazakhstan and the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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