MOSCOW, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia has invited officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) to a security conference in Moscow next month, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
"Despite suspended military cooperation, invitations to the forum have been sent to all NATO and EU members as well as the NATO leadership," Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told a news briefing.
Also on Friday, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Peter Pavel discussed by phone the prospects for the restoration of military interaction and the participation of NATO representatives in Russia-sponsored international events.
The talk has been the first high-level military contact since NATO decided to freeze relations with Russia in April 2014 over the latter's incorporation of Crimea and its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis.
The sixth Moscow conference on international security will be hosted by the Russian Defense Ministry on April 26 and 27, said Fomin.
He said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will address the annual event, which is expected to attract more than 700 security officials and experts around the world.
