CSTO set to cooperate with Afghanistan, not to participate in operations

BRUSSELS, January 22. /ITAR-TASS/. A high-ranking NATO military official said on Wednesday that the Western military alliance looks for a constructive partnership with Russia this year.

Addressing the 170th NATO Chiefs of Defense two-day meeting, which opened in Brussels on Wednesday, Chairman of the Military Committee General Knud Bartels said the Chief of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, will attend the meeting later in the day within the format of Russia-NATO Council.

“In this meeting we will continue our constructive dialogue on Partnership activities that promote trust and mutual understanding,” the alliance’s official website quoted Bartels as saying to senior military officials of 28 NATO member states.

“We will therefore seek agreement on a Work Plan for cooperation in 2014 and consider some practical examples of cooperation between NATO and Russia through the Cooperative Airspace Initiative and the implementation of the Afghanistan Helicopter Trust Fund,” Bartels added.