Opening remarks by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the Meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of Ministers of Defence

Ministers, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Bonjour. Dobro pozhalovat! Good morning. Welcome to this NATO-Russia Council in Defence Ministers’ informal session.

Our informal discussion today will provide a timely and welcome opportunity for an exchange of views on the state of NATO-Russia defence co-operation.

It will allow us to compare notes on what we regard as our priorities for the period to come.

We are doing this against the background of a solid record of achievements in the NRC framework on defence and military issues. Of particular note, NATO and Russian naval forces continue training and other steps in preparation for the beginning later this year of Russia’s operational contribution to NATO’s anti-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean, ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR.

And I am looking forward to pay a visit later today to the “Moskva” ship in that context.

Nous parlerons également des opérations en cours, notamment de celles menées en Afghanistan, dans les Balkans, en Iraq et au Darfour, ainsi que d’autres préoccupations actuelles liées à la sécurité internationale.

La réunion d’aujourd'hui est aussi une excellente occasion de réfléchir dans un cadre informel aux possibilités d’étendre la coopération pratique entre l'OTAN et la Russie, y compris à la façon de rendre notre partenariat de plus en plus opérationnel.

I would now ask the members of the press to leave the room, so that we can begin our closed session.