Russia and NATO fail to agree

Moscow and NATO are no closer to reaching agreement over missile defence and the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, according to the Russian Defence Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, who has met NATO leaders in Brussels.

NATO's Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said Russia's relations with the alliance cannot reach their full potential while these disagreements remain.

The comments were made during a session of the NATO-Russia council.

The two sides have signed two key documents on improving military ties and pledged to work together on combating terrorism.

The situation in Kosovo was also discussed at the meeting. Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, says the alliance's pull-out of Kosovo would be a mistake:

“NATO's Kosovo Force should obey the UN mandate. A gap always has to be filled. So if the KFOR leave, they will be replaced by an army of former extremists and militants, which will be called the ‘Kosovo security force’. It is a clear violation of the UN decision.”