BRUSSELS: Russia and NATO chiefs of general staffs will meet on Tuesday to discuss a 2010 military cooperation plan for the first time since the improvement in ties between Russia and the alliance.
NATO considers the visit by the Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, First Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Makarov, the first since May 2008, to be a move to repair ties damaged by the Russian-Georgian military conflict in August 2008.
The sides will discuss the 2010 military cooperation plan, including Russia’s support for the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan, namely the transit of military cargo via the Russian territory, as well as joint anti-piracy and anti-terrorist efforts.
The meeting comes within the framework of a two-day meeting of NATO chiefs of General Staffs.
The alliance froze ties with Russia following the brief armed conflict with Georgia and the recognition by Moscow of Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but relations have improved in recent months.
Foreign ministers of the 28-member alliance have resolved to restore full-scale cooperation with Russia at a meeting in Brussels in March 2009.
