MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and NATO have put the final touches to a document paving the way for operations under the Russia-NATO Council's auspices, said Foreign Ministry official Alexander Alexeyev.
Alexeyev spoke at an international conference entitled Russia and NATO: Cooperation Prospects after the Prague Summit, which was held in Moscow on Friday.
He said "this document provides for operations under the auspices of the Russia-NATO Council, which will hold such operations under its full control."
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow stressed that if NATO takes part in a crisis settlement, Russia's participation in such operations will be the priority issue on the agenda.
If Russia agrees to join, the Russia-NATO Council will become the decision-making and planning body for the operation, Vershbow said.
He called on Russia to work together with NATO, including on military issues, in times of peace in order to secure guidelines for cooperation in the event of a crisis.
The ambassador noted that so far, the new Russia-NATO Council has quite modest goals and projects, which first and foremost are related to assessments of terrorist threats and are developed on the principles of consensus. The Russia-NATO Council is not a discussion club, he said.