Shoigu after a two -year break resumed a dialogue with NATO, discussing Syria, Afghanistan and pro

The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu attended a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council on Wednesday in the capital of Belgium Brussels, during which issues with the situation in Syria and Afghanistan were discussed, as well as the problematic missile defense topic (pro) was affected. During a meeting with 28 colleagues from the member countries of the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, the Russian representative also listed the general difficulties that restrain his cooperation and invited the Alliance to "jointly work on the search for mutually recycled decisions", Interfax informs.

One of the central topics of the first meeting of this format since 2011 was the rid of Syria from the arsenal of chemical weapons , as well as the holding of the Geneva-2 conference in November. Commenting on the possible participation of Russia in the program to destroy chemical weapons in the Arab Republic, Shoigu noted that "if there is such an appeal, then the Russian Federation will consider it and will be ready to discuss it."

In addition, all NATO member countries advocated negotiations to resolve the Civil War in Syria "Geneva-2". According to the Secretary General of Anders Fogg Rasmussen, Blok hopes that the conference "will lay the way to the political settlement of this tragic conflict", quotes his words RIA Novosti .

Cooperation of Russia -NATO in Afghanistan is still an unsystematic nature - expert

In a number of key, the question of Afghanistan was also in connection with the upcoming in 2014 by the withdrawal of the American military contingent from this country. According to Rasmussen, Afghan problems touches on three areas of interaction - this is the training of Afghan specialists by the methods of combating drug trafficking and drug trafficking, the supply of spare parts for the Afghan Army of Mi -17 helicopters and the transit of NATO goods from Afghanistan through the territory of Russia to Europe.

As for the last paragraph, the agreement on the transit of goods from Afghanistan through Russian territory was signed back in 2009, and in 2012 a transit point for the transport of NATO non -military goods in Ulyanovsk was opened. However, the United States has not yet taken advantage of Russian transit due to its high cost.

According to Shoigu, the Russian delegation has found another initiative - the creation of the Center for the Training of Afghan Sapers in Russia, which will cleanse the territory of Afghanistan. The Minister of Defense of Russia also stated that all participants in the meeting expressed their concern to activate the actions of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, ITAR-TASS reports.

This threat becomes more and more real against the backdrop of the withdrawal of troops from the country, said Shoigu. In this regard, he recalled that in the near future the International Security Conference will be held in Moscow, which is traditionally held by the Russian Ministry of Defense. On it, the head of the department noted, the "most burning security issues", including in Afghanistan, will be discussed.

"The Council of Russia -NATO has been operating for 10 years. During this time, we have gone a difficult path - from the first euphoria, through misunderstanding, to a serious constructive dialogue. Today, within the framework of the SRN, a lot is being done on our general concern in the field of security, including Afghanistan, cooperation on the helicopter support of Afghan forces, interaction in the field of military medicine, technical cooperation," the Minister of Defense summarized the Minister of Defense RF.

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Heigel, with whom Shoiga talked a tete-a-tet, said in this vein that Russia and the United States agreed to conduct regular video conferences to discuss urgent security problems.

Experts who commented on the result of Russia-NATO dialogue in Afghanistan, in turn, emphasized that the prevailing relations "satisfy both sides, since both sides do not expect anything from them." Remembering about the non -used transit of NATO cargoes from Afghanistan through the territory of Russia to Europe, the head of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Fedor Lukyanov said that so far the cooperation between the Alliance and Russia in Afghanistan is quite non -systemic, sets out the newspaper.ru .

The head of the sector of foreign and domestic policies of the United States Imo RAS Fedor Voitolovsky, on his part, believes that "Afghanistan is an subject of concern for everyone and a potential source of challenges and threats."

"After the conclusion of the forces of the international coalition, the situation may become uncontrollable, since the political system in the country is very unstable. NATO and CSTOs must be included in the dialogue. But so far the political and organizational foundations have not been created for this," Voitovsky concludes.

Shoigu listed the problems that restrain the cooperation of Russia-NATO, affecting the problems of

As part of the meeting, Sergei Shoigu called the main problems, which, according to him, interfere with a more productive interaction between the countries participating in the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty and Russia. In particular, as the head of the military department of the Russian Federation said, we are talking about the implementation of confrontation anti -missile plans in Europe, an attempt to revive the old agreement on ordinary armed forces in Europe (DOVS), promoting NATO military infrastructure to Russian borders, as well as the alliance policy to expand its membership.

Touching on the urgent problem of missile defense, on which the parties cannot agree, Shoig explained that Rossiz suffers from the predictability of colleagues. The fact is that the combination of national systems about NATO members into a single system does not cause much enthusiasm in Russia, despite the statements of the Blok leadership, that Moscow may also participate in its creation: the conditions of the block are not satisfied. "Programs of Pro in Europe are developing, our concern is not taken into account ... For all our openness, we count on the understanding and adequate reaction of partners in NATO," said Shoigu.

At the same time, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation emphasized that the Russian side is still advocating for cooperation in the field of missile defense, "which helps to strengthen the security of each state." According to him, Russia offered NATO "to work together on the search for mutually acceptable solutions."

“However, before starting general missile defense projects, we need firm reliable legal guarantees that the American system of the about will not be used against the Russian nuclear deterrence forces,” Shoigu added.

Recall that on the eve of negotiations, Rasmussen, for his part, stated that "there is a lot of politics in this matter, while specialists and experts should be more involved in this problem."

Meanwhile, experts are inclined to believe that one of the main stimuli is currently absent between Russia and NATO - the expansion of the alliance to the east. This topic, it is worth noting, was never included in the agenda, although it was called Shoigu in the list of basic problems. Thus, experts note, the potential receipt of Georgia of the “road map” for joining the block - a plan of action on NATO membership - was actually stopped after the Russian -Georgian conflict in August 2008.

“The expansion of NATO was the main stimulus. Russia in conflict with Georgia showed that its relics are enough, and no one wants to go to a serious conflict,” Fedor Lukyanov quotes Gazeta.ru .

At the same time, the possibility for joining NATO and Georgia, and even Ukraine is preserved, notes Pavel Zolotarev, Deputy Director of the Institute of the United States and Canada. "Ukraine made its choice in favor of integration with the EU, and this is the first step," he says.

Russia and NATO need to leave the "ghosts of the" Cold War "and hold further consultations

Summing up the negotiations, Sergei Shoigu emphasized that today's Russian -NATO meeting was an important contribution to the joint work to strengthen the safety of the Euro -Atlantic. "" Avable dialogue is a path to mutual understanding and constructive partnership in ensuring peace and strategic stability, "he said.

The head of the military department of the Russian Federation also added that he paused during a conversation with his colleagues a few words about the reform of the Russian armed forces and assured them - this is not a “muscles”, but “a painstaking work on the formation of a modern and combat -ready army equipped with modern weapons, ready to respond to any challenges and threats”. At the same time, one of the main goals of this reform of the Russian army is to equip it with officers and highly qualified soldiers, Shoigu said.

Anders Fogg Rasmussen, for his part, stated that although neither NATO nor Russia has yet agreed on the parameters of possible cooperation in the field of pro, "everyone agrees that further consultations are a forward path."

Expert Pavel Zolotarev, summarizing the meeting, emphasized that the cooperation of Russia and NATO must be continued, moving away from the "ghosts of the" Cold War "." There is no need to get into the pose of the boxer when there are real threats to both sides. It is necessary to rake the blockages of the Cold War and continue to skillfully maneuver, ”Zolotarev is convinced.