MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and NATO have joined efforts to create a unified system for airspace monitoring, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

"The Russia-NATO Council is working on a unified system that would help create a comprehensive 'picture' of the situation in the skies and, therefore, eliminate the dividing line between Russia and NATO in the sphere of air defense," the ministry said, referring to a resolution recently adopted by the Lithuanian parliament in connection with the crash of a Russian Su-27 fighter in the Baltic republic.

The resolution called for the increased role of NATO in the defense of the airspace over the Baltic States.

The new system "could become an effective means to prevent such incidents in the future and to counter potential terrorist threats from the air," the ministry said.