Oslo, 24 February 1997 (RFE/RL) -- Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov said today he is cautiously optimistic about negotiations on the controversial issue of NATO's eastward expansion. Primakov spoke following his arrival in Norway for a two-day visit during which he will meet high-ranking Norwegian officials to discuss NATO enlargement, which Moscow strongly opposes.
Primakov arrived in Oslo from Brussels, where he held talks with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana yesterday.
Meanwhile there are reports from Brussels today that NATO and Russia have already begun drafting the text of a framework agreement on future relations.
Western news agencies quote unnamed NATO officials as saying that a delegation traveling with Primakov had remained behind in Brussels to work on the document.
NATO has said it will not let Moscow have a veto over who can join the alliance. But it has offered a range of measures to try to reassure Russia that the admission of former Warsaw pact countries will not be a security threat.
Other issues likely to come up were the Middle East peace process and Yugoslavia as well as bilateral cooperation in the Arctic.
Primakov arrived in Oslo from Brussels, where he held talks with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana yesterday.
Meanwhile there are reports from Brussels today that NATO and Russia have already begun drafting the text of a framework agreement on future relations.
Western news agencies quote unnamed NATO officials as saying that a delegation traveling with Primakov had remained behind in Brussels to work on the document.
NATO has said it will not let Moscow have a veto over who can join the alliance. But it has offered a range of measures to try to reassure Russia that the admission of former Warsaw pact countries will not be a security threat.
Other issues likely to come up were the Middle East peace process and Yugoslavia as well as bilateral cooperation in the Arctic.