Russia says NATO needs its help on Afghanistan

By Oleg Shchedrov

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's foreign minister told NATO on Thursday that both sides benefited from joint cooperation and he pointedly raised the issue of Russian transit support for Alliance forces in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made his comments after Norway and two Baltic members of NATO, Estonia and Latvia, said that Moscow had told them it was suspending military cooperation over the crisis in Georgia.

NATO subsequently confirmed that Russia had informed it of the step, which emerged after the U.S.-led alliance agreed on Tuesday to freeze regular business with Russia until Moscow had withdrawn its troops from Georgia in line with a peace deal.

Lavrov, speaking to reporters in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, said: "I can only say that Russia needs cooperation with NATO no more than NATO needs Russia."

"The fate of NATO is being decided in Afghanistan," he said.

"After the famous NATO meeting (when the alliance froze contacts with Russia), some leading alliance officials were whispering in my ears: 'You are not going to halt the Afghanistan transit, are you?'", he added.

He said Russia was not "going to shut the doors" on cooperation with NATO. Ties between Moscow and the alliance are managed through a forum called the NATO-Russia Council.

But he went on: "It all depends on NATO priorities: if they prefer to support the bankrupt Saakashvili regime to partnership with Russia, that will not be our fault."