From RIA Novosti: A Russia-NATO Council meeting at the level of defense ministers will most likely not happen in June as hoped, a source in the Russian mission at the NATO said on Tuesday.

The first meeting between Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his NATO counterparts since the brief Russia-Georgia war in 2008 was tentatively scheduled for June 11-12 in Brussels.

"The meeting is unlikely to take place due to conflicting schedules of the Russian minister and NATO," the source said. …

NATO foreign ministers decided at a meeting in Brussels in March 2009 to restore full-scale cooperation between the alliance and Russia.

A meeting between Russian and NATO defense ministers would be another step in normalizing ties.  (photo: AP)

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