MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - US President Barack Obama’s statement about the possibility of the US unilaterally amending the basic act streamlining Russia-NATO relations is wrong in legal and political terms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
“Declaring that one country decided to amend a collective document signed by 28 states would be incorrect both in legal and political terms,” Lavrov said.
The Russian minister said that the document was drafted by all members of the Russia-NATO Council and “can be amended only through a collective effort.”
The NATO-Russia Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security was signed in 1997 and is the formal basis for current NATO-Russia relations. It defines the procedures of consultation, cooperation, joint decision-making and action of the two parties.
In April, the Alliance suspended cooperation between NATO and Russia over Russia’s alleged role in escalating the crisis in Ukraine, something Moscow has repeatedly denied.
On September 4 and 5, a NATO summit is taking place in Newport, Wales. About 60 world leaders and high-ranking officials are in attendance. The summit’s agenda includes the discussion of the Ukrainian crisis, NATO-Russia relations, the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, enhancing the collective defense of the alliance, and the activity of Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
