A NATO-Russia summit could be held next year in Chicago if the parties can agree on a substantive agenda, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday.
No decision has been taken yet, however, he said, adding that he would like “to make progress on the NATO-Russia track.”
Missile defense was a key issue, he said.
“Cooperation on missile defense makes sense militarily – because it renders both our systems more effective. And it makes sense politically — because it demonstrates that our missile defense is not directed against Russia.”
Rasmussen reiterated NATO’s two-system idea:
“By cooperating with Russia, we can build two different missile defense systems with the same purpose: to tackle new threats and old suspicions at the same time.”
Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile shield during the NATO-Russia Council summit in Lisbon in November 2010.
NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.