NATO should re-engage with Russia, alliance officials say

Krakow, Poland - NATO will eventually resume direct dialogue with Russia, alliance officials said Friday as they expressed concern over the membership aspirations of several Eastern European states. On the second and final day of their informal meeting in the Polish city of Krakow, NATO defence ministers mostly reviewed ways of improving the workings of their organization. They also held a fresh round of talks with their counterparts from Georgia and Ukraine, two countries that are aspiring to become NATO members in spite of strong opposition from Moscow. Other issues that have helped strain relations with the alliance's largest neighbour also came to the fore in Krakow. Among them plans by the United States to create a missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and a decision by the government of Kyrgyzstan to close the US's only air base in Central Asia. NATO effectively froze ties with Russia in the aftermath of the country's invasion of Georgia in August. And the alliance has not yet decided when to resume meetings of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), a forum for direct dialogue. 'I think everyone has assumed that the NRC will resume being a venue for dialogue between the alliance and Russia. The question is at what point that happens,' said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. Gates said US President Barack Obama had not yet had the time to have a thorough look at his policies towards Russia, but noted comments made by Joe Biden at a recent security conference in Munich, in which the US vice-president said the current administration believed 'the time has come to re-set the relationship with Russia and move forward.' NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had earlier said 'strong disagreements' between NATO and Russia remained, adding however that he expected allies to address the issue at a planned March 5 meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. The NATO chief also expressed 'concern' at efforts taking place in Slovenia to block neighbouring Croatia's entry into the organization because of a border dispute concerning access to a small stretch of the Adriatic Sea. Croatia, along with Albania, is hoping to formally join NATO at the alliance's summit of April 3-4 in Strasbourg and Kehl. 'I hope we can see a situation at the summit where we can greet Albania and Croatia into the NATO family,' de Hoop Scheffer said. 'Everybody involved, including Slovenia, should do everything they can to make that happen,' he said. The NATO chief also warned Ukraine that it should do more to modernize its defence capabilities, in spite of a global financial and economic crisis that has badly affected the country. 'Ministers encourage Ukraine to keep up the efforts, including with the necessary resources, difficult as that may be, because an inefficient and antiquated defence and security sector will cause Ukraine much more (problems) in the long run,' the NATO chief said. On the issue of the missile shield, Gates asked Poland for patience, noting that the Obama administration still needed time to review plans that are perceived in Russia as posing a direct threat to its nuclear arsenal. The US defence secretary also said he remained hopeful that a 'reasonable' deal could yet be reached with Kyrgyz officials preventing the closure of the United States' air base, which provides vital supplies to US and NATO operations in Afghanistan.