MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti, Irina Chumakova) - Canada wants to strengthen cooperation with Russia, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham said Thursday in an interview with RIA Novosti.
During the interview, Graham discussed bilateral cooperation between Canada and Russia, security, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation.
"The security dialogue and cooperation between Canada and Russia are strong and multi-faceted," he said. "Security issues are regularly discussed during high-level meetings, such as the recent G8 Summit in Gleneagles or Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's official visit to Moscow in 2004..."
"Canada and Russia also cooperate within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council, where key areas of cooperation include the campaign against terrorism, defense reform, airspace management, and civil energy planning. Canada and Russia take advantage of G8, NATO, and OSCE partnerships to consult with each other on regional security issues in the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central Asia, in particular Afghanistan," Graham said.
On the subject of terrorism, he said, "Canada regards Russia as an important partner in this effort... We welcome the recent conclusion of the UN Nuclear Terrorism Convention in New York, which was championed by Russia. We also look forward to working with Russia as it assumes the G8 presidency."|
When asked about the program of Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction (adopted in 2002 at the G8 summit in Kananaskis), Graham said the program had "demonstrated impressive results."
Russia and Canada signed a bilateral nuclear agreement and hold regular consultations through international forums.
"Examples of our cooperation include a $120 million program to dismantle 12 Victor-class nuclear-powered submarines decommissioned from Russia's Northern Fleet and a $65 million contribution to Russia's program to dispose of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium."
