Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday suggested a regional pact to integrate Russia into the Euro-Atlantic community as an organic part.
On his maiden European trip as president, Medvedev said he wanted a broader Euro-Atlantic community, including Russia, to avoid confrontation and suggested a new European security pact.
Medvedev said: "It would be a regional pact, based on the principles of the UN Charter which would clarify, finally, the meaning of the power factor in relations within the Euro-Atlantic community." It will also play a role in solving intertwined security interests and the problem of arms control.
He said Russia does not want chaos, and called for an equal treatment from the European countries because he believed that Europe's problems will not be solved until it forms an organic unity of all its historical parts, including Russia.
In recent years, Moscow has been offended by the eastwards expansion of NATO and the planned U.S. missile shield system in East Europe. Besides calling for a new regional pact, Medvedev also expressed his concerns on these issues and said the eastwards expansion of NATO risked "spoiling" relations between Moscow and the West "in a radical way" for years to come.
Source:Xinhua
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