MINSK, November 2 (RIA Novosti, Irina Chumakova) - Belarus is interested in closer cooperation with NATO, but does not seek to join the organization, Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev said at a press conference Wednesday.
Maltsev said Belarus was participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, but unlike other nations, it did not view the program as a stepping-stone toward membership.
Joining the trans-Atlantic alliance has never been on the Belarusian agenda, the minister said.
