BRUSSELS, Mar 5 (AP): Seven months after breaking ties with Russia over its invasion of Georgia, the NATO alliance is moving toward resuming formal relations.
NATO foreign ministers meeting Thursday appeared likely to decide the time is right. Such a move could boost President Barack Obama's efforts to build a stronger bond with the Russians after years of tensions during the Bush administration.
For US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who arrived in the Belgian capital Wednesday night, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) meeting will be her first. She is at the midpoint of a weeklong trip that began in Egypt and took her to Israel Tuesday and the West Bank Wednesday. After the NATO session she is due to travel to Geneva Friday to meet with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.
On Wednesday, a NATO spokesman said the alliance's secretary-general hopes that Clinton and her fellow foreign ministers will endorse a quick resumption of official contacts with Russia. Spokesman James Appathurai said Russia will be one of two main subjects under discussion; the other is the prospect of developing a more effective strategy for carrying out the stalled war in Afghanistan.
Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht told reporters after hosting a dinner with his fellow NATO ministers Wednesday night that despite some small differences, there appeared to be a majority in favour of restarting formal ties with Russia.
Appathurai said the allies expect Clinton to update them on the Obama administration's review of its Afghan war strategy. The United States has more than 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and the alliance has a similar number. Washington has pushed the Europeans for many months to increase their commitments in Afghanistan - military and civilian - but a troop shortage persists, according to US commanders.
Clinton declined Wednesday to discuss the status of the administration's Afghanistan review, which is examining ways to improve not only the military aspect of the struggle but also the international economic and diplomatic aspects. Asked whether Iran might be brought in as a partner in helping to stabilise Afghanistan, Clinton told reporters, "That will be considered."
Appathurai, the NATO spokesman, said Thursday will be "an important opportunity for an exchange of views as we move closer to the NATO summit," referring to an April meeting of NATO heads of government and state at which Afghanistan will be a key topic. "We will wish for all allies to sing from the same song-sheet, and this will be an important stage in that process."
A senior US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said Wednesday evening that Thursday's meeting of allied foreign ministers was expected to decide to authorise a revival of the NATO-Russia Council, a forum in which the allies regularly meet with their Russian counterparts to discuss a wide range of issues.
Clinton told reporters travelling with her Wednesday that the US and NATO relationships with Russia are complicated.
"Just as with the conversation I will begin with Minister Lavrov Friday, there's an interest in exploring with Russia what kind of cooperation is possible - both with NATO and with the United States on a range of issues," she said.
