Russia: Prefers NATO observer status

BRUSSELS, April 1 (UPI) -- Moscow prefers to remain a NATO observer rather than become a member, but doesn't rule out joining in the future, the Russian envoy to the alliance says.

Russian NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin made the statement Tuesday as Brussels hosted a "Shadow NATO summit," during which participants called for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to entertain the possibility that Russia could one day become part of its security structure, the EU Observer reported Wednesday.

"There is no such necessity at this moment, but we cannot rule out this opportunity in the future," Rogozin told the publication in a phone interview, responding to comments made by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski calling for Moscow to join the military alliance if it meets the membership criteria.

"The problem is not that NATO extended to Russia's borders, but that it stopped there," Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels advocacy group, said during the shadow summit. "NATO should welcome Russia in its inner ring, provided it complies with the human rights criteria."