BRUSSELS, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and NATO have agreed to transform the Russia-NATO Council into an effective working body ready to examine issues of global security, Russia's envoy to NATO said on Wednesday.
The Russia-NATO Council held a meeting at the level of ambassadors to discuss both security in the Euro-Atlantic region and relations between Russia and NATO, which were temporarily broken off after last August's Georgia-Russia war.
"We must restore the practice of political dialogue which should be conducted on the basis of equality and mutual respect," Dmitry Rogozin said.
"In our contacts with the Alliance we must avoid unpredictability and provocation," he added.
According to the Russian diplomat, today's meeting clearly showed that "NATO has partially abandoned its policies of confrontation and started to implement its own decision to reset relations with Russia."
NATO froze contacts with Moscow over Russia's five-day war with Georgia last year, and only resumed formal talks on April 29. However, the relations took another hit earlier this month with the expulsion of two Russian NATO diplomats from Brussels. Russia responded by evicting two NATO officials from Moscow and pulling out of the NATO-Russia Council session.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recently expressed hope that obstacles would be removed to allow the Russia-NATO Council to continue its work, and "this important structure will resume its activity on the basis of principles agreed during its establishment."
The Belgian capital is set to host a Russia-NATO meeting at the level of foreign ministers in September, and a meeting of chiefs of general staffs in October.
NATO's new secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is expected to visit Moscow later this year.
