NATO On 17 December, the last day of his stay in Moscow, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen continued his political talks and engaged with the Russian public.
He met Mr Boris Gryzlov, Chairman of the State Duma, and other members of the Russian Parliament. Discussion ranged from the issue of Afghanistan, where the problem of drugs was highlighted, as well as the broader dialogue between parliamentarians from Allied countries and Russia.
The talks with Mr Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of the Security Council, were in turn focused on such security challenges as the fight against terrorism, proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and piracy. In the afternoon, the Secretary General paid a visit to the NATO Information Office (NIO), meeting NIO and Military Liaison Mission staff.
The last engagement took Mr Rasmussen to the Moscow Institute of International Relations. At an event organized by the Carnegie Moscow Centre, the Secretary General delivered a speech "NATO and Russia, partners for the future".
In his address he said, "Let me say one thing very clearly as NATO Secretary General: NATO will never attack Russia. Never. And we do not think Russia will attack NATO. We have stopped worrying about that and Russia should stop worrying about that as well."
The speech was followed by a discussion with students, military cadets and academics.
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