Corfu, June 27: NATO nations hope to restart military cooperation with Russia in piracy operations, counter-terrorism and on supply routes into Afghanistan in talks today, a senior US official said.
“There is a possibility that we will agree on the resumption of military to military cooperation, focused particularly on areas of common interest like counter-piracy, Afghanistan and counter-terrorism,” the official said.
His remarks came ahead of a meeting of NATO and Russian foreign ministers on the Greek island of Corfu, which will mark a formal resumption of official ties that were suspended over the war in Georgia.
“Afghanistan is a key part of that,” said the official, as NATO nations negotiate with Moscow ways to transport goods over Russian territory to troops in Afghanistan, where the alliance is battling a Taliban-led insurgency.
He said NATO also hoped to involve Moscow in talks on a new piracy mission — Operation Ocean Shield — in the Gulf of Aden, where Russia has had vessels and could be ready to send more.
“This is the kind of operation where we would welcome discussions with Russia,” he said.
—Agencies