U.S. official praises role of NATO-Russia Council

NATO and Russian foreign ministers are set to meet in New York on Wednesday to prepare the groundwork for a NATO summit in Lisbon in November that will include Russia.

"We are seeking - NATO and the United States, at the meeting tomorrow and at the other meetings - a fundamental agreement among 29 members that the NATO-Russia Council is the place where we can do business, where we gather to resolve issues of common concern, to find common solutions to common challenges. And we have to continue our dialogue about those issues and disagreements," Ivo Daalder told a news conference in Washington.

NATO has invited Russia to attend the Lisbon summit in a bid to enhance cooperation on security issues, including the war in Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, sea piracy and drug trafficking.

"Everything indicates that the meeting in New York and the dialogue in Lisbon will be successful," Daalder said.

The U.S. official also expressed hope that the Lisbon summit would set the stage for a Russia-NATO dialogue on the common European missile shield.

"I would expect that NATO will offer Russia and other countries the opportunity to take part in dialogue and further cooperation on the European missile defense," Daalder said.

The planned placement of U.S. missile defense elements in Eastern Europe, close to the Russian borders, remains a bone of contention in U.S.-Russian relations. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.