Brussels, June 7 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has argued that seeking legal guarantees that the planned European missile defense will not be an anti-Russian weapon would be the wrong path to follow.
"The most promising path towards greater trust is more discussion, more political debate and exchange, rather than complicated legal formulas which would be difficult to agree on and ratify among 29 countries [the NATO member states and Russia]," Rasmussen told Interfax.
He cited NATO and Russia as saying at a joint summit in Lisbon in November 2010 that they saw each other as partners rather than adversaries.
"I can also assure you – and I have said it publicly on many occasions – that NATO will never attack Russia and we are convinced that Russia sees the Alliance in the same light," he said.
"I do agree that we still need a greater degree of mutual confidence and trust. This is understandable following the legacy of the Cold War – long over in reality but still perhaps lingering in the minds of some people here and there," Rasmussen said.
