MOSCOW – The U.S. defense policy bill signed into law by President Barack Obama, which restricts military cooperation with Russia, will not have a significant effect on relations between the two countries’ defense agencies, Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov (Ret.), a former chief of the Russian Defense Ministry’s main military cooperation department, said in an interview with Interfax.
“There are no threats to us from non-cooperation with the Pentagon,” Ivashov said.
“As a matter of fact, we haven’t had such interaction in the past years,” he said.
Anyway, Russia and the U.S. will continue working together in critical fields, Ivashov said.
“As concerns Afghanistan, disarmament, international problems – each party will honor its obligations,” he said.
U.S. media had reported earlier that President Obama had signed into law the defense policy bill, which restricts military cooperation with Russia.
These restrictions on cooperation with Moscow would not apply to the two countries’ actions within the agreements on arms control and nuclear nonproliferation and other valid treaties. They also do not concern cooperation on Afghanistan.
