Russia, Nato discuss Syria, “common risks”
January 28, 2014, 2:03 pm

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) met NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday in Brussels [Image courtesy: MFA, Russia]

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday in Brussels.

The two sides exchanged “opinions on pressing issues of the international agenda, including the possibility to assist the UN/OPCW mission to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2118.”

Russia, China, US, UK, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Finland have contributed military equipment and personnel to the effort to transport chemical weapons out of Syria.

Lavrov and Rasmussen also “expressed their readiness to carry on the search for solutions to the missile defense problem, to build up confidence and predictability in military political affairs and to ensure the steady growth of cooperation in response to common risks and security threats – terrorism, sea piracy, natural and man-made catastrophes, as well as in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also arrived in Brussels to attend the Russia-EU summit meeting where he will hold talks with the European Union’s top two officials, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

“The summit will examine key issues on the bilateral agenda, focusing particularly on trade and economic cooperation and the prospects for introducing visa-free travel for short visits by Russian and EU citizens, energy sector cooperation and activating negotiations on a new basic agreement,” said a Kremlin statement.

Russia and the EU has had a bitter face-off in recent months over Ukraine.

Pro-EU protestors in Ukraine have taken to the streets since November, angered by the government’s turn to Moscow and its rejection of a planned treaty with the EU.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov warned last week that protests in Ukraine are “getting out of control”.

With inputs from Agencies