NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday called for a new beginning in NATO-Russia relations, proposing the reinforcement of practical cooperation, rejuvenating the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) and conducting a joint review of new security challenges.

"A time-out may have been useful to rethink our relationship. But the international security environment does not wait for NATO and Russia to sort out their act. Quite simply, NATO-Russia cooperation is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of necessity," said Rasmussen in a speech at the Carnegie Endowment in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen delivers a speech in Brussels Sept. 18, 2009. Rasmussen on Friday called for a new beginning in NATO-Russia relations, proposing the reinforcement of practical cooperation, rejuvenating the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) and conducting a joint review of new security challenges. [Xinhua]

"This new relationship will require a lot of hard work. But if we manage to get away from the reflex of assuming the worst about each other, and focus instead on our common interests, then we can make a genuine new beginning in our relationship -- in our own interest and that of the entire international community," he said.

This was the first major public speech by Rasmussen since he took office on Aug. 1.

Rasmussen made the speech after an announcement by United States that the country is pulling out from plans to build a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which had upset Russia.

On practical cooperation between NATO and Russia, Rasmussen named the fight against terrorism, the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, missile defense, Afghanistan, and maritime security.

Rasmussen proposed linking the missile defense systems of NATO and Russia one day. "We should explore the potential for linking the US, NATO and Russia missile defense systems at an appropriate time," he said.

"The proliferation of ballistic missile technology is of concern not just to NATO nations, but to Russia too. Our nations, and our forces deployed in theater, will all become increasingly vulnerable to missile attacks by third parties."

On the rejuvenation of the NATO-Russia Council, a mechanism for political dialogue between Russia and NATO allies, Rasmussen said the council should be taken as a forum for serious dialogue.

"I firmly believe that we should use the NATO-Russia Council again in the way it was originally intended -- not as a fair-weather forum, but as a forum where we can all air our differences openly and transparently, and where all our security concerns are discussed, including Russia's," he said.

On the joint NATO-Russia analysis of common security challenges, Rasmussen said the NATO-Russia Council should be used to identify areas where NATO and Russian interests converge and where further cooperation would be beneficial.

"The agreement to conduct such a review would provide the NATO-Russia Council with an unprecedented high-level political profile. And it would also be an unambiguous signal of our intention to work more closely together and to put our past differences behind us. It would represent a genuine new beginning for the NATO-Russia relationship," said Rasmussen.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2009)