Opening of the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the Kremlin, Moscow

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr Secretary General!

Good afternoon dear colleagues! I would like to warmly welcome you to the Kremlin. This year we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Russia-NATO Founding Act and the fifth anniversary of the Rome treaty that established the Russia-NATO Council. I would like to note that Russia-NATO relations have changed dramatically during this fairly short period. We have moved confrontation to cooperation.

Naturally, this is a large, multifaceted endeavour and it could not take place without certain problems. We hope that the ongoing Russia-NATO dialogue will contribute to resolving problems in the interests of international security and with a view to strengthening world peace.

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER: Dear Mr President!

Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with us. I would like to thank you personally, as well as the Russian government cabinet and the Russian people, for the hospitality with which they met the Russia-NATO Council.

There are two key concepts in our relations: the first concerns investments and our personal contribution and the second refers to cooperation and communication. First and foremost, we must refrain from looking back: we must look to the future. I think that there is no alternative to good healthy relations between Russia and NATO, because NATO can not do without Russia and Russia can not do without a partner such as NATO.