The NATO-Russia Council is "up and running" again, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Saturday after NATO and Russian foreign ministers agreed to relaunch relations.
"It was my ambition to leave to my successor a NATO-Russia Council which is up and running," the outgoing secretary general told a news conference at the end of the NRC talks on the Greek island of Corfu.
"I can confirm after the meeting that just ended that I have achieved that aim," Scheffer said.
Scheffer said "fundamental differences" of opinion remained between the alliance and Moscow over Georgia, whose five-day war with Russia last August and the subsequent Russian recognition of the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia caused a crisis in relations.
"In the near future the trains shall not meet," he said.
"But this is not a stumbling block any more for the fact that there are lots of things in the NRC we can discuss."
