Alliance spokeswoman Carmen Romero said NATO had received notification through military channels that Russia’s Defence Ministry had taken a decision “to halt international military cooperation events between Russia and NATO countries until further instructions”.

The US immediately played down the significance of the Russian decision, saying that NATO had already effectively frozen cooperation in protest at Russia’s continued military presence in much of Georgia.

“For all practical purposes, military-to-military cooperation had really already been ended with the Russians,” said US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe, with vacationing President George W Bush in Crawford, Texas.

“I can’t imagine a circumstance right now that we would engage in military cooperation with the Russians until the situation in Georgia is resolved.”

In a move that angered Russia, NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday said they would make further ties with Russia dependent on Moscow making good on a pledge to pull its troops back to pre-conflict positions in Georgia. But they stopped short of calling an immediate halt to all cooperation.

Moscow has also bristled at NATO’s insistence that Georgia could one day join the alliance and by an agreement signed Wednesday allowing the United States to base anti-missile interceptors in Poland.

The US State Department called the Russian move “unfortunate”. Spokesman Robert Wood told reporters in Washington “we want Russia to work with us” despite US concerns about the Georgian invasion.

“We still have some very important issues that we need to work with Russia on,” Wood said.

Under a 2002 agreement that set up the NATO-Russia Council, the former Cold War foes began several cooperation projects. They include sharing expertise to combat heroin trafficking out of Afghanistan, developing battlefield anti-missile technology, joint exercises and help with rescue at sea.

Romero said she was unaware of any specific events under the cooperation agreement scheduled before early September.

NATO itself decided last week to suspend plans for a Russian warship to join NATO counterterrorism patrols in the Mediterranean Sea, deciding it was inappropriate after the outbreak of fighting in Georgia.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that NATO needs Russia more than Moscow needs NATO, and Russian cooperation with NATO’s efforts against militants in Afghanistan could be jeopardised.

“Russia’s help is critical for NATO,” Lavrov said in televised comments in Moscow. He said that after the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting “leading alliance members came to us and whispered in our ears, hoping that we do not halt cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan”.

Moscow signed an agreement with NATO in April, authorising the alliance to send non-lethal supplies to its troops in Afghanistan through Russian territory. However, NATO officials said the alliance has not started to use routes through Russia since it has yet to conclude the necessary transit arrangements with Central Asian nations lying between Russia and the Afghan border.