Russia agrees to cooperate on NATO's program to defend against ballistic missile attacksNovember 21, 2010 - 18:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a NATO summit in Lisbon that Russia has agreed to cooperate on NATO's program to defend against ballistic missile attacks. "For the first time the two sides will be cooperating to defend themselves," Mr. Rasmussen said. The Lisbon summit has been redrawing NATO's focus to face new challenges. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said of the summit: "A period of very difficult, tense relations has been overcome." This is the first NATO summit Russia has attended since the Russia-Georgia war two years ago. NATO members had earlier agreed on a program to develop and deploy defenses against ballistic missile attack on their territories. Mr. Rasmussen said he had extended an offer to Russia to cooperate on the program and was "very pleased that the Russian President has taken up that offer". Mr. Rasmussen said this agreement was of "real political importance" and a "true turning point". There would be an exchange of information on the threats to European skies, he said, and the two sides "could conceivably cooperate on shooting down an incoming missile". Mr. Rasmussen said: "The NATO nations and Russia have today agreed in writing that while we face many security challenges, we pose no threat to each other." He said Russia had agreed to allow more supplies to travel through Russian territory to support NATO's mission in Afghanistan and to allow equipment out as well, BBC reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |