NATO urges allies to share duties

Solana, right, greets Hungarian PM Viktor Orban in Budapest as Robertson, left, and Powell look on

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- NATO Secretary-General George Robertson says the alliance must shoulder a greater share of the burden of maintaining security and stability.

His comments came on Tuesday at the beginning of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

The U.S. missile defence plan, the situation in the Balkans and finding ways to curb the proliferation of weapons were expected to be high on the agenda.

Lord Robertson opened the session -- its first formal assembly behind the old Iron Curtain -- by pledging to work towards a "more balanced trans-Atlantic relationship."

He also said the alliance was "determined to bring peace and stability to the entire Balkans region."

His comments came as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he hoped he could mend divisions within the ethnically mixed Macedonian government in his attempt to avert civil war in the southern Balkan republic.

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Solana was returning to Skopje after briefing the NATO alliance on his latest crisis mission to the region, where a fragile coalition government is battling ethnic Albanian rebels.

U.S Secretary-of-State Colin Powell said he would use the session to try to assure NATO allies of Washington's commitment to peacekeeping duties in the Balkans.

He was also expected to discuss the U.S. plans for the National Missile Defence (NMD) system which faces objections from some European allies and Russia.

"I'll try to reassure them that there isn't a big split in the administration (on whether to remain in the Balkans)," Powell said in advance of the meetings in Budapest.

Powell's comments followed suggestions by U.S. Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that Washington was ready to pull out of Bosnia.

But Powell said Rumsfeld's comments may have been misinterpreted.

The regular six-monthly military review of NATO commitments in the Balkans has just been completed.

While it is believed the conclusion is that force levels in Kosovo are just about right, NATO's military commanders are expected to call for a "modest" reduction in Bosnia, probably by between 10 and 15 percent.

Rumsfeld's remarks earlier this month throwing doubt on the U.S. commitment in Bosnia "were not received with delight in Europe," a senior NATO official told the Associated Press.

Rumsfeld, who is conducting an overall defence review, said he wanted to cut the number of missions U.S. forces are carrying out abroad.

Powell said Rumsfeld "has been told by the president to try to get our force levels down around the world" and the defence secretary's public comments only reflect that assignment.

"But Mr. Rumsfeld and I and the president have all said we are not going to bail out of our commitments (in Bosnia and Kosovo)," Powell said.

Also high on the agenda will be President George W. Bush's proposed $60 billion NMD programme.

On Monday Bush said he intended to offer a mix of arms purchases and military aid to Russia and other European allies in exchange for reduced resistance to his plans for a missile defence system.

The strategy will also seek to gather support for the shelving of the 1972 Antiballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, officials said, a move needed to deploy such a missile defence system.

Administration officials told CNN the White House was prepared to purchase from Russia "components, sub-components and systems" suitable for missile defence.

These include some Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles while Moscow will be offered a broad range of other incentives, including joint missile-defence training.

The overall missile defence subject is "of very high interest" to NATO allies "and for us," Powell said.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was due to attend some of the NATO sessions and was expected to meet Powell to discuss the latest developments.

Also expected to be discussed in Budapest was the U.N. humanitarian "oil-for-food" programme to Iraq that expires on June 3.