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NATO and Russia resume military ties
2009-06-27
CORFU, Greece - NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the alliance and Russia have agreed to resume military ties after 10-month hiatus caused by the war between Russia and Georgia. Relations between the alliance and the Russian military were frozen in the aftermath of the five-day war last August. Although political ties have thawed considerably over the past five months, there have been no formal military contacts since then. Scheffer, who is ending his term as NATO head, said Saturday it had been his ambition to leave his successor with a NATO-Russia Council that was "up and running." He said that aim had been achieved at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers with their Russian counterpart on the Greek island of Corfu. It was the first high-level meeting since the Georgian war. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. CORFU, Greece (AP) -- NATO and Russia are set to resume military ties Saturday and agree to cooperate on Afghanistan, counterterrorism and anti-piracy patrols at their first high-level meeting since last year's war between Russia and Georgia, Western officials said. Relations between the alliance and the Russian military were frozen in the aftermath of the five-day war last August. Although political ties have thawed considerably over the past five months, there have been no formal military contacts since then. "I've come in an optimistic mood," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said ahead of a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts from NATO's 28 member nations on the Greek island of Corfu. "I expect (the meeting) will be the restart of our relationship, that we can see where we can more intensively work together, not shying away from the differences of opinion that we have." Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Greek counterpart Costas Karamanlis were the only heads of government to attend the conference. "We want to forget (the past) and resume total cooperation on all the issues on which we have decided to collaborate," Berlusconi told journalists. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that he never believed it was right to try to isolate Russia. "I think there are terrorist threats that we can tackle better with Russia rather than without Russia," he said after arriving at the seaside resort off Greece's western coast. The talks are being held in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council, a panel set up in 2002 to improve ties between the former Cold War rivals. The meeting comes as President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev prepare to hold a summit next week, and is likely to reflect the trend toward improved relations. "What we can expect today is ... a resumption or military-to-military contacts," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said, adding that participants would also consider reforming the NATO-Russia Council to make it more efficient. He said that in addition to Afghanistan, military-to-military cooperation would encompass anti-piracy patrols and counterterrorism activities. "Does that mean there are no more areas of disagreement? Of course not, and Georgia is the big one," Appathurai said. "But the disagreement over Georgia cannot hang like a cloud over all other issues." Despite last year's disruption of ties with NATO, Russia has continued cooperating with individual NATO nations such as the U.S., France or Germany by allowing them to use Russia's rail network to resupply international forces in Afghanistan, and its navy has worked with NATO warships on their joint anti-piracy patrols. Officials said participants also are expected to give the go-ahead for talks between defense chiefs. NATO commanders are particularly interested in Russia's cooperation on the transshipments of military supplies to the rapidly expanding U.S.-led force in Afghanistan. The normal supply route to landlocked Afghanistan via Pakistan has come under repeated Taliban attack, and the generals are keen to have an alternate overland supply route available through Russia and the Central Asian countries. NATO also wants Russia to provide more assistance to the war effort, including helping the government army with arms and airlift. Lavrov is expected to brief the NATO ministers on Medvedev's proposal for a new European security structure, including a stability treaty encompassing Europe and North America. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who planned to meet with Lavrov in Corfu, was forced to cancel those plans after she fell and broke her elbow at the State Department. Deputy Secretary of States James Steinberg is replacing her. The NATO-Russia meeting will be followed Sunday by a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose rotating chairmanship Greece currently holds. The OSCE talks, which start Saturday night with a dinner, will be followed Sunday afternoon by a meeting between EU ministers to discuss Iran, the Greek Foreign Ministry has said. ___ Associated Press correspondents Elena Becatoros and Nicholas Paphitis contributed to this report.
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