MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen plans to visit Moscow in early November before the NATO-Russia summit, the Kommersant newspaper said on Wednesday, citing sources from the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.
The tentative date has been set for November 5, the paper said, citing sources at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
During Rasmussen's visit to Russia the parties are likely to discuss agreements containing the legal definition of the term "substantial combat forces" and reflecting NATO's obligation not to station such forces in the countries which joined the alliance after the collapse of the USSR, Kommersant's source in Brussels said.
"Currently we are in intense preparations for the [NATO-Russia] summit. And it is not ruled out that issues such as the definition of substantial combat forces will be discussed. But this topic could be raised even earlier, during the NATO secretary general's visit to Moscow," he said.
A draft agreement determining the characteristics of substantial combat forces has been handed over to the NATO leaders by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as early as last December.
"Since it is NATO and not Russia that is expanding, we have a question about military potentials. Although political commitments have been made in this regard, legal obligations are not the same," said Kommersant's high-ranking source from the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the Russian initiative.
"Our draft agreement says that permanent stationing of forces above the brigade level in the alliance's new member states will be inconsistent with the new nature of the NATO-Russia relationship," the Russian diplomat added.
The Russian draft agreement prevents NATO from stationing its forces in new member states above the level where such troops can be employed in offensive operations.
In seeking to secure the signing of this agreement, Russia is trying to make NATO's military presence in the countries, which have joined the alliance recently, more predictable, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Kommersant.
The NATO-Russia summit is due to be held in Lisbon on November 20.