25/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - During a joint conference with EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on Tuesday 25 May, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen set out ways to bring EU/NATO relations out of the current impasse and improve cooperation between the two organisations. The EU must allow third countries to take part in military operations and “include them in the decision making process, as NATO does in the ISAF format” (International Security Assistance Force). It must “conclude a security agreement with Turkey” and conclude “an arrangement to include Turkey in the European Defence Agency”, he said. Rasmussen went on to add that, for their part, they believe “Cyprus needs to be a country which deserves a seat at the table when we have a dialogue between the EU and NATO”. (A.By./transl.jl)