On Aug. 21, the Russian Defense Ministry announced its decision to halt military cooperation with NATO members. The Russian announcement comes only a week after Moscow tried to convene a special meeting of the NATO-Russia Council to discuss the situation in Georgia, but was rebuffed by the alliance. Instead, NATO foreign ministers met independently of Moscow on Aug. 19, when they threatened to curtail military cooperation with Russia. When asked about the Russian decision, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe observed that, "For all practical purposes, military-to-military cooperation had really already been ended with the Russians. I can't imagine a circumstance right now that we would engage in military cooperation with the Russians until the situation in Georgia is resolved." In effect, Russia and NATO have independently suspended their joint projects. Russian representatives cited the U.S.-Polish missile defense agreement as the source of their displeasure, as well as the allies' support for the "criminal" regime in Tbilisi, while NATO governments justified their decision as an inevitable result of Russia's "disproportionate" use of force during the Georgia crisis.
Tit for Tat: Russia Suspends Relations with NATO
