KIEV, December 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's defense minister said Thursday he is confident that the appointment of a new United States defense secretary will not affect relations between the two countries' defense agencies.
The U.S. Senate confirmed former CIA chief Robert Gates Wednesday to replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary. Rumsfeld resigned after the Democrats took control of both Congress and the Senate at mid-term elections.
"Concerning the appointment of Robert Gates as the new head of the Pentagon, I hope the course that has been followed for the past six years under Defense Secretary Rumsfeld will be continued," Sergei Ivanov, currently in Kiev for a Russia-Ukraine security meeting, told a news conference.
He said defense relations with the U.S. "will be built on a realistic, pragmatic basis," especially on issues of global stability and nuclear nonproliferation.
"Russia is ready for constructive cooperation," he added.
