MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax-AVN) - The majority of legislators of the Russian State Duma are against Georgia's speeded plan to join NATO, Viktor Zavarzin, chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, told Interfax-AVN on Friday.
"The absolute majority of the Russian parliamentarians are against the Georgian NATO entry plan. We think that all the requirements should be first met that are set for any country that is willing to enter the alliance. This standpoint was made clear to our partners at the recent session of the NATO parliamentary assembly in Canada, also attended by a State Duma delegation," he said.
According to him, in the talks over the Georgian issue during the meeting of the Russian delegates with NATO colleagues, the Lithuanian delegation said it is all for the soonest admittance of Georgia into NATO.
"The relations between Russia and Georgia were also discussed. The Russian delegations expressed its willingness to normalize the bilateral relations as soon as Tbilisi liquidate the causes of the present crisis," Zavarzin said.
He also said that the Russian delegation suggested that NATO should bolster cooperation with Russia in order to enhance law and security in problematic regions, like Afghanistan, for example.
"The Afghan furnace of military and political instability exerts the most serious influence on the situation in the region as a whole. The main threats to the security are the terrorism and drug trafficking. Russia is also concerned with the increased activities of Taliban in Northern Afghanistan. Drug trafficking is also one of the most urgent problems for Russia, for it is very close to its southern borders," he said.
The sides mentioned not once during the meeting that there are many positive steps in the cooperation in the war on terror and drug trafficking within the framework of the Russia-NATO council, Zavarzin noted.
"Afghan specialists are being trained at the central base of the Russian Interior Ministry in Domodedovo as part of the effort taken within the international antiterrorism operation and combating drug trafficking," he said.