NATO Secretary General Mr George Robertson said today President Mr Vladimir Putin had told him Russia sought no veto on what NATO was doing.
Speaking after talks in the Kremlin, Mr Robertson said Mr Putin had said Moscow was not trying to slow down or neutralise the work that NATO does, nor was it a way in which Russia would seek to have a veto on what NATO was doing.
Mr Robertson was in Moscow for talks on a plan floated by British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair to allow Russia to discuss certain issues with NATO's 19 members on a basis of equality, a long-standing Russian goal.
Yesterday, Mr Robertson implied Moscow would have a veto right in some circumstances.