Rasmussen welcomes closer NATO-Gulf cooperation

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Friday welcomed steps to boost cooperation between the Alliance and the Gulf states which are members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI). Speaking at a press conference in Brussels today he \"warmly welcomed,\" the opening of an UAE mission in NATO headquarters. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the UAE, opened his countrys office in NATO in the Belgian capital, on 12 April. \"It is a significant step in strengthening the bonds between NATO and our partners,\" he stressed. Moreover, a high-ranking NATO delegation held talks in Kuwait on Thursday. \"More generally one would welcome such steps forward in our relations with our partners within the ICI in the coming years,\" added Rasmussen. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE are members of the ICI which was launched in 2004 to promote defence cooperation between NATO and countries of the Middle East. Meanwhile, he said Foreign Ministers of the 28-member Alliance during their regular spring meeting on Tuesday, 23 April, in Brussels will examine developments in the Middle East and North Africa. He noted that the situation in Syria continues to pose a grave risk for the region but stressed that there are no plans for NATO to intervene. \"I do not expect any change on our general position on Syria. We do believe that the right way forward is a political solution to the crisis in Syria,\" stressed the NATO chief. The NATO foreign ministers will also take stock of the Alliance\'s Patriot deployment in Turkey. Rasmussen described the recent resumption of contacts between Israel and Turkey as \"positive news\" after a long period of political tensions. He said NATO has contacts with the new administration in Libya and noted that the current difficult situation was expected as the new leadership has to build a society from scratch after forty years of brutal dictatorship. He said NATO is ready to help Libya in the transition process if requested. NATO foreign ministers will also meet with their counterparts from the 22 non-NATO countries which contribute to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan on Tuesday afternoon. Rasmussen who just visited Japan and South Korea said North Korea\'s missile launches and nuclear tests \"pose a serious threat to regional and international peace, security and stability.\" He urged North Korea to refrain from any further provocations and to fulfil its international obligations but added that the Alliance does not seek a presence in the Asia-Pacific region.