Russia freezes military cooperation with NATO
Posted: 21 August 2008 0427 hrs

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OSLO: Russia has decided to freeze its military cooperation with NATO and allied countries until further notice, the Norwegian defence ministry said on Wednesday.

"Norway has received information that Russia has decided to 'freeze' all military cooperation with NATO and allied countries until further notice," the ministry said in a statement.

A ministry spokeswoman, Heiki Langvik-Hansen, told AFP "the Russian defence ministry had telephoned the Norwegian embassy in Moscow" informing Norway of the development.

NATO foreign ministers had on Tuesday declared that "business as usual" with Moscow was now impossible following Russia's invasion of Georgian territory in a fierce conflict over the South Ossetia separatist region.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accused Russia of failing to respect a French-brokered peace plan requiring both sides to move troops back to their positions before Georgia launched an offensive on the separatist region of South Ossetia.

The Russian navy meanwhile announced it had cancelled its participation in naval manoeuvres planned in the Baltic Sea as part of its partnership with NATO, and said it was currently "not considered possible" to host the US naval frigate Ford.

Georgia on August 8 launched a military offensive against its pro-Russian breakaway republic South Ossetia – which unilaterally declared its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union – in order to regain control.

The Georgian operation failed after Moscow intervened, sending troops, tanks and warplanes into South Ossetia to defend Russian citizens in the breakaway republic.

A ceasefire agreement has been signed, calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops, but no significant withdrawal had been observed by Wednesday.

The White House on Wednesday urged Russia to speed up its withdrawal from Georgia and reiterated its support for Tbilisi.

Russia and Norway were due to hold a meeting on Thursday on the freezing of military cooperation, Langvik-Hansen said. She was unable to say at what level the meeting would be held.


- AFP/so