BRUSSELS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Russia and NATO officials agreed Wednesday to a joint effort to destroy thousands of outdated Cold War-era weapons in Russia's Kaliningrad region, NATO said.
The agreement to dispose of obsolete bombs, shells and other munitions "will make the environment safer for all those who live near these stocks of dangerous ammunition," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. "And we will create the conditions for former military sites to be converted to civilian use."
The NATO-Russia agreement was reached during the second date of meetings of alliance ministers in Brussels, Stars and Stripes reported.
Much of the focus in the foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels was on Afghanistan and the long-term security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan concerning a U.S. military presence after combat troops leave by the end of 2014. Failure to reach agreement could derail NATO plans for follow-on training in the country, Stars and Stripes said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has indicated he wouldn't sign the agreement before the April elections.
NATO and Russian officials discussed areas of cooperation in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Rasmussen said, including munitions disposal initiatives and programs designed to countering roadside bombs.
Russia and NATO already cooperate on logistical efforts and training Afghan counter-narcotics agents.
"This will benefit our shared security. It will allow us to promote stability in Afghanistan, and thus in the Euro-Atlantic region," Rasmussen said. "And it will allow us to improve the protection we give to our troops, our citizens and all those who are threatened by home-made bombs."
