MOSCOW, June 24 (RIA Novosti) - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance was not going to open any new military bases near Russia and that NATO wanted to maintain a mature partnership with Moscow.
We have made a serious progress in concrete cooperation, in particular, Russian and NATO vessels will be jointly policing the Mediterranean to fight terrorism, he said.
Scheffer said NATO and Russia needed each other because both were facing the same threats and challenges.
However, he said Russia and NATO should set more ambitious objectives and that Russia-NATO cooperation had not exhausted its opportunities.
He said he had discussed the situations in the Middle East, Asia, the Balkans, and Sudan with President Vladimir Putin.
We also discussed the pullout of Russian bases from Georgia, and the withdrawal of Russian ammunition from Moldova, Scheffer said. This is one of the major obstacles on the way to ratification of the CFE Treaty adaptation agreement, he added
Russia and NATO agree on the steps that need to be taken in Afghanistan, Scheffer said, adding that he discussed the situation in Afghanistan in detail here.
In the past week, we have seen an increase of violence in Afghanistan, but the country has made considerable progress in stability and security, he said.
The measures that would improve the situation in Afghanistan include holding elections in September and fulfilling international commitments as part of the Kabul process.
