Brussels, 13 November 1997 (RFE/RL) - At NATO headquarters today, military representatives of the Alliance and "Partnership" countries met for the first time as the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
All NATO members were represented and 12 "Partners," including Ukraine, Romania, Uzbekistan, Albania and Russia, although Russia's delegation was not headed by its new military representative, who assumes his new post this month.
The Council was formed at the Madrid NATO Summit in July, and is composed of the 16 NATO members and 28 other countries.
Today's Brussels meeting was chaired by German General Claus Naumann, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. Discussions focused on the former Yugoslavia and peace-keeping operations.
There was also some discussion of NATO's internal preparations for expansion, and preparations for a meeting of Defense Ministers and the NATO ministerial meeting next month.