Putin said there were serious tensions in Russia’s relations with NATO, including over the alliance’s continuing eastward expansion, the creation of military infrastructure on the territory of NATO's new member states, problems with the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE), the issue of Kosovo and Washington’s plans to deploy its missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.

“All this does not make our cooperation more predictable and confidential, and is far from pushing our relations to a new level,” Putin stressed. “National security cannot be built on promises, especially given that we had heard similar assurances on the eve of NATO’s previous expansion campaigns,” he stressed, commenting on the alliance’s statement that the deployment of missile defense systems in Eastern Europe would not threaten Russia’s security.

Uncertainty over NATO’s transformation plans did not help increase Russia’s confidence, either, Putin noted, referring to NATO’s claim to play a global security role, including expansion both geographically and into other areas, such as energy security and cyber security.

“Uncertainty also remains regarding the criteria for using NATO’s military forces and its relations with the UN Security Council,” Putin added. At the same time, he said Russia was planning to expand its practical cooperation with NATO to meet common challenges. “It is impossible to address today’s challenges alone. Coordinated efforts by all strategic players are needed, including separate countries and international and regional organizations. We are prepared for this job and appreciate the results of today’s meeting,” he underlined.

According to Putin, Russia and NATO have achieved significant progress in terms of political cooperation. “We have made significant progress in developing a political dialogue and practical cooperation,” he said. In particular, an agreement was reached to facilitate non-military cargo transportation through Russia to promote security in Afghanistan.

The return to the Cold War is impossible, “nobody is interested in it,” Putin said. “Neither Europe not the United States nor Russia are interested in returning to the past. If we speak of our concerns, we would like to be heard and to solve problems together,” the Russian President concluded.