Suspended Russia-NATO cooperation mutually counterproductive - Russian military
MOSCOW. May 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Westerns sanctions against Russia connected with the situation in Ukraine are negatively influencing progress in military cooperation, said Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov.
"We have been hearing all sorts of threats coming from the West and from NATO countries. Sanctions are being introduced against Russian military officials and against the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. All of these circumstances are having a negative impact on progress in military cooperation," Antonov said in an interview with the Kuna news agency (Kuwait).
"We do hope that common sense will triumph, the point of cooling will be passed and we will start overcoming the crisis step-by-step," Antonov said.
"It is clear that it's going to be a tough job doing that. Yet, I am convinced that not only the Russian Defense Ministry, but also our colleagues in the West are interested in mutually advantageous cooperation," he said.
He said the defense ministries of Western and NATO countries, and the Russian Defense Ministry earlier scheduled a series of meetings between the general staffs in 2014.
"All this has been suspended," he said.
"The level of interaction we have attained over the past few years was the result of the strenuous efforts all the parties made," he said.
"It seemed to us in February 2014 that mistrust had considerably abated in relations between Russia and NATO. The recent events demonstrated, however, that Cold War stereotypes endure," Antonov said.