WASHINGTON, Aug 2-RIA Novosti. The commander of the Second Fleet of the US Navy, Vice Admiral Andrew Lewis, told RIA Novosti that he assesses cooperation with the Russian military as "adequate" and considers its development possible.
The area of responsibility of the Second Fleet of the US Navy includes the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean.
"I think that we have adequate cooperation, but there are areas where we can cooperate in order to be more respectful (to treat each other), well, for the common good," the admiral said.
"We welcome any opportunity to communicate positively with our military colleagues," Lewis added.
"As for the areas of cooperation, this is professional behavior, when there is a standard of such behavior that everyone understands and implements. We had such a first-person experience a couple of years ago, when we were in the Baltic Sea and operated alongside Russian forces, and there were never any problems. Everything was very professional, no questions asked. This is the first and most important thing, " the military commander said.
Among the possible topics of cooperation between the Arctic countries, the admiral named fishing, oil and gas exploration and precious metals. He gave an example: the fishing grounds between Norway and Russia are among the richest in the world thanks to the cooperation of the two countries in this area. In addition, we can talk about cooperation on rescue operations and safety at sea. "These are all genuine areas where we need to work together," the admiral said.
He answered negatively to the question whether his command now has plans for meetings with Russian colleagues.
