NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer: NATO member states cannot maintain their current relation with Russia. Russian troops need to withdraw immediately

Marţi, 19 august 2008, 16:37 English | Top News

NATO - Russia relations cannot be the same and the extraordinary Foreign Affairs ministers meeting in Brussels comes to strengthen this, NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer declared in a press conference that followed the official meeting of the ministers on Tuesday. Russia needs to respect the peace agreement proposed by the EU and signed by both parties. He urged Russian troops to withdraw from Georgian territory immediately. 

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer declared that EU Foreign Ministers agreed that Russia needs to honor all points in the peace agreement it had previously signed as there are no official signs that it respects the agreement.

Moreover, he underlined that all ministers agreed that Georgia needs all the support it can get from the international community and approved a set of assistance measures to actively involve in Georgia's recovery after the war.

Moreover, Scheffer underlined that the international community will have to change its relations with Russia if the latter fails to respect the signed peace agreement. Moreover, Scheffer declared that NATO will set up a team of 15 experts to help Georgians evaluate the damages in infrastructure of civil communications.

Scheffer pointed out that NATO will settle a NATO - Georgia commission as a measure to deepen relations between the Alliance and Tbilisi. Scheffer's representative Bob Simons will visit Tbilisi to consult with Georgian authorities.