New York, 29 September 1997 (RFE/RL) - NATO alliance Secretary General Javier Solana says none of the parties in Bosnia should doubt that NATO and Russia have a common approach to Bosnia's problems and a common determination to implement the Dayton peace accord.
Solana's comments came after the first ever session of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council, which met last week at the United Nations in New York. The council was created by a NATO-Russia agreement concluded earlier this year. Both Russia and NATO have troops in Bosnia helping to implement the peace accord that ended the civil war there.
Bosnia was the lead item for the council meeting, said Solana, who pronounced the session a success and called it substantive.
The council also discussed joint projects such as civil emergency planning, retraining of retired military personnel and environmental protection.
The council is to meet twice a year at the level of foreign ministers, and the next meeting was set for December 17 at NATO headquarters in Brussels.