Russia temporarily suspends military cooperation with NATO

Russia temporarily suspends military cooperation with NATO (NSI News Source Info) BRUSSELS August 21, 2008: Russia's Defense Ministry has temporarily suspended military cooperation with NATO ahead of a political decision being made, the Russian envoy to the alliance said on Thursday. "Cooperation with NATO is a complex issue, and until Russia's political leaders have made a decision on what is involved, the Defense Ministry has suspended military cooperation with the alliance," Dmitry Rogozin said. Rogozin will return to Moscow on Friday for discussions with the country's leadership on cooperation with the military alliance. "I think all major decisions on our cooperation with NATO will be made during the consultations," the envoy said. NATO foreign ministers said after talks Tuesday that the alliance was freezing contacts with Russia until it pulled its troops out of Georgia, but stopped short of stronger measures. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on Thursday that the country's future ties with NATO would depend on how the Western military alliance chose to act. On Tuesday, he accused NATO of taking Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili under its protection.