MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax-AVN) - Donald Rumsfeld's resignation as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday will have no serious effect on military cooperation between Russia and the United States, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.
"In the last few years, Russian-American military cooperation has become more pragmatic, stable, and taking account of the security interests of both countries. For this reason, Donald Rumsfeld's resignation will not substantially affect the climate that has taken shape in relations between the Pentagon and the Russian Defense Ministry," the spokesman told Interfax-AVN.
"Despite differing principles in dealing with various international problems, our countries hold coordinated positions on fundamental issues, such as action against international terrorism and the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and technologies for such weapons," he said.
The spokesman expressed confidence that a plan for cooperation between the Russian and U.S. armed forces for 2007 that has been approved by both countries would need no amendment because of Rumsfeld's resignation.
President George W. Bush nominated former CIA director Robert Gates to replace Rumsfeld as defense secretary.