MOSCOW, March 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's NATO envoy accused the Western alliance on Friday of trying to take on a global role, competing with the United Nations.

"Attempts to submit proposals for NATO reform have been made for a long time now, but still nothing distinct has been said. According to fragmented information, documents and events, we can see that NATO is essentially ready to compete with the UN," Dmitry Rogozin told the Russian News Service radio.

NATO froze ties with Russia last September, after the Georgia-Russia war.

Earlier this month Russia's Foreign Ministry welcomed NATO's willingness to resume cooperation. Rogozin earlier said that the work of the Russia-NATO Council could resume later in March, and that the "period of estrangement" in Russia-NATO relations is "largely behind us."