According to the scenario, the NRC discussed their shared concerns about the situation and tasked experts to explore how the Council could work together to tackle it. The closest ships in the area were military vessels from NRC nations. This allowed for both civilian and military representatives of member nations to play their parts in the exercise. The aims were to explore how to coordinate an NRC response to a simulated terrorist incident as well as to evaluate strategic-level cooperation among member nations in such a context.

FM Lavrov: We haven't been invited to Chicago conference so I cannot comment on this. We have been assisting the International stabilisation force in Afghanistan by providing transit possibilities through Russian territory so called Northern Route where Russia is actively involved. I think the Northern Route has become the major supply route for ISAF in Afghanistan and I think two third of deliveries are done by the northern route. We believe this is our contribution to fulfill the mandate which the international forces received from the Security Council and we have the right to demand to this mandate to the implementation of which we contribute is implemented before the operation is over. And of course this must be coordinated with the Afghan government.

I would like to express my gratitude for another opportunity to take the floor within the ‘Government Hour’. We appreciate your interest in the work of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as close day-to-day interaction between the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation which we consider one of the key elements in ensuring efficient implementation of our foreign policy course. The elections of President of the Russian Federation held on 4 March have inter alia provided convincing proof of the continuity of our foreign policy guideline. In article ‘Russia and the Changing World’ published on the eve of the elections V.V. Putin, the elected President of the Russian Federation, outlined that we would consistently act based on our own interests rather than any imposed solutions. The goals of our foreign policy are of strategic rather than non-conjuncture nature. Russia is a part of the great world. Therefore, our foreign policy course will remain harmonious, active, constructive and based on the willingness to develop a sound dialogue and cooperation with all parties ready to it and on the principles of equality of rights and mutual respect. We will not blur the existing difficulties, yet we are not going to dramatize them.