MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian-French relations in the defense and security sphere "are one of the most important elements of the general system of stability and security in Europe," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in opening negotiations with his French counterpart Michele Alliot-Marie in Moscow on Friday.
"Our relations in the defense and security sphere have become significantly more active of late," which was prompted by the decision of the two countries' presidents to set up a 'quartet' of Russian and French defense and foreign ministers, Ivanov said.
Moscow and Paris are also maintaining a "very open and frank" dialogue on issues directly related to global security, primarily in combating terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"Our cooperation in the military-technical field has begun experiencing development of late," he said.
Alliot-Marie in turn said that "Russian-French relations in the defense sphere were established long ago, and they are perfect." However, "to address the new global climate, these relations must be strengthened," she said.
"Our talks are multi-level, and they affect, particularly, our bilateral relations, technical relations and relations between people," she said.
"We should analyze the situation in the world together in light of the joint steps that Russia and France took in the developments in Afghanistan and Kosovo," Alliot-Marie said.