Russia may cancel military talks with NATO - Ifax
* Russia NATO envoy warns against Georgia exercises
* Threatens halt to planned military meeting
* NATO says no plans to cancel exercises
(Adds NATO comment)
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) - Russia threatened on Monday to call off a meeting of senior military commanders with NATO next month if the alliance went ahead with planned exercises in ex-Soviet Georgia, Interfax news agency reported. "If we see no reaction (to Russia's protests about the exercises) ... the Russia-NATO meeting of the chiefs of staff planned for May 7 will not take place," Interfax quoted Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, as saying.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said there were no plans to cancel the exercise.
"As far as NATO is concerned, nothing has changed," he said. "The meeting of chiefs of defence will take place and Russia is invited, and preparations for the exercise continue.
"Russia has been fully informed as a NATO partner of the preparations for this exercise for a year and should recognise that it poses no threat to the stability in the region."
Russia, which fought a brief war with Georgia last year, has protested bitterly against NATO's plans to hold a series of international exercises near Tbilisi next month.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO already that the exercises could hinder efforts to unfreeze the alliance's relations with Moscow, suspended after the Georgia war.
A decision by Russia and NATO to resume the work of the joint council is part of efforts to "press the reset button" on rocky ties between Moscow and Washington, after new U.S. President Barack Obama took office.
The council's first formal ambassadorial meeting since the resumption in ties is scheduled for April 29 and a ministerial meeting is planned for May 19. Russian officials have so far sent no signal these two meetings could be at risk.
NATO diplomats said this indicated that the process of gradual normalisation of relations remained on track and that if anything, Rogozin's comments could indicate a softening of the Russian line as he had referred only to the May 7 meeting.
"If they come it's nice and would be a sign of the warming up of relations between NATO and Russia," an alliance official said. "If they don't come it's unfortunate and we would regret it, but that's their decision to take."
Russia describes the exercises as NATO support for Georgia, a crucial transit route for Caspian Sea oil and gas to Europe, and long controlled by Moscow.
NATO says it does not understand why Moscow is upset by the plans for exercises, which will involve 19 countries from May 6 to June 1.
It says they will be based on a fictitious U.N.-mandated, NATO-led crisis response operation involving some 1,300 troops, about half of whom would be non-combat personnel, and no heavy weaponry. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Editing by Louise Ireland)
* Threatens halt to planned military meeting
* NATO says no plans to cancel exercises
(Adds NATO comment)
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW, April 20 (Reuters) - Russia threatened on Monday to call off a meeting of senior military commanders with NATO next month if the alliance went ahead with planned exercises in ex-Soviet Georgia, Interfax news agency reported. "If we see no reaction (to Russia's protests about the exercises) ... the Russia-NATO meeting of the chiefs of staff planned for May 7 will not take place," Interfax quoted Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's envoy to NATO, as saying.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said there were no plans to cancel the exercise.
"As far as NATO is concerned, nothing has changed," he said. "The meeting of chiefs of defence will take place and Russia is invited, and preparations for the exercise continue.
"Russia has been fully informed as a NATO partner of the preparations for this exercise for a year and should recognise that it poses no threat to the stability in the region."
Russia, which fought a brief war with Georgia last year, has protested bitterly against NATO's plans to hold a series of international exercises near Tbilisi next month.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO already that the exercises could hinder efforts to unfreeze the alliance's relations with Moscow, suspended after the Georgia war.
A decision by Russia and NATO to resume the work of the joint council is part of efforts to "press the reset button" on rocky ties between Moscow and Washington, after new U.S. President Barack Obama took office.
The council's first formal ambassadorial meeting since the resumption in ties is scheduled for April 29 and a ministerial meeting is planned for May 19. Russian officials have so far sent no signal these two meetings could be at risk.
NATO diplomats said this indicated that the process of gradual normalisation of relations remained on track and that if anything, Rogozin's comments could indicate a softening of the Russian line as he had referred only to the May 7 meeting.
"If they come it's nice and would be a sign of the warming up of relations between NATO and Russia," an alliance official said. "If they don't come it's unfortunate and we would regret it, but that's their decision to take."
Russia describes the exercises as NATO support for Georgia, a crucial transit route for Caspian Sea oil and gas to Europe, and long controlled by Moscow.
NATO says it does not understand why Moscow is upset by the plans for exercises, which will involve 19 countries from May 6 to June 1.
It says they will be based on a fictitious U.N.-mandated, NATO-led crisis response operation involving some 1,300 troops, about half of whom would be non-combat personnel, and no heavy weaponry. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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