NATO said on Thursday it had been informed by Russia of its decision to halt international military cooperation with NATO member states until further notice, a spokeswoman of the military alliance said.
Russia's move came after the 26-member military bloc warned on Tuesday of a chill in relations with Russian unless Moscow immediately withdrew from occupied positions in South Ossetia, a breakaway autonomous republic of Georgia.
The decision was made by the Russian Defense Ministry and was made clear to NATO through military channels, said NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero.
Georgia launched attacks in its breakaway region of South Ossetia on Aug. 8 in an attempt to regain control of the region that borders Russia.
Tbilisi's move triggered prompt reaction from Moscow, whose troops drove Georgian forces out of the region and took parts of Georgian territory.
The West, amid deteriorating ties with Moscow, has accused Russia of being slow in its troop withdrawal which is stipulated in a cease-fire agreement. Russia has said the pullout is to be completed by Friday.
At its extraordinary foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday, NATO said it was "considering seriously the implications of Russia's actions for the NATO-Russia relationship."
At a press conference after the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer warned that "there can not be business as usual" in NATO-Russia relations under current circumstances.
"Our relations will depend on concrete actions Russia will take to honor the words by (Russian) President (Dmitry) Medvedev to abide by the six-principle cease-fire agreement," he added.
Source:Xinhua
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