PARIS, September 3 (Itar-Tass) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy voiced support for developing military cooperation with Russia in creating a NATO anti-missile defence in Europe. The French leader expressed this opinion at talks with NATO secretary-general Anders Fog Rasmussen here on Friday.
L’Elysee communique, circulated by the results of the meeting, says that Sarkozy raised the question at the meeting on consolidating Europe’s defences. In this connection, the French president confirmed to his vis-·- vis that France intends to remain one of leading European powers in defence.
The head of the republic emphasised that this is especially true of improving methods of troop shifting as well as strengthening its own forces of nuclear containment. An alliance’s ABM system, without replacing them, can play a role of an additional factor, “ says the report by the presidential administration.
The meeting between Sarkozy and Rasmussen at L’ Elysee was held the next day after the International Conference in support of a new Libya, held in Paris on Thursday. The situation in that North African country was one of the key topics at the talks between the French president and the NATO secretary-general. The two of them concurred in the opinion that the NATO military operation in Libya was crowned with a great success.