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Moscow moves closer to NATO

Alliance members pledged to work more closely together

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO began more talks with Russia on building a closer relationship on Friday, but again stopped short of inviting Moscow into the Western alliance.

"Let me stress that as we strengthen ties with Russia, it is not becoming a NATO member," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Associated Press.

"NATO at 19 will retain its prerogative to act independently on any issue. So we are not limiting NATO by NATO at 20, but we are leveraging NATO by the inclusion of Russia."

Sources told Reuters that misgivings by the United States and former Warsaw Pact allies now in NATO had braked the drive for quick progress.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov embraced like old friends on Friday at the start of the Permanent Joint Council meeting between the 19 NATO allies and Russia at alliance headquarters in Brussels.

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NATO agreed in principle on Thursday to set up a new forum -- the NATO-Russia Council -- to identify and pursue opportunities for joint action.

But the allies put off launching the new body until their next meeting in Iceland next May, and did not earmark any areas for joint decision with Russia following last-minute resistance by Washington as well as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, diplomats said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair had proposed inaugurating the new body at this session and committing NATO to running a wide range of tasks including peacekeeping through the new mechanism.

But Reuters reported that this was something U.S. critics feared would be tantamount to giving Moscow a veto over NATO action.

NATO foreign ministers were presenting Ivanov with their ideas for future relations with Russia on Friday.

Russia's full cooperation with the fight against terrorism has led to the allies believing the time may be ripe for taking a fresh look at the way NATO does business with the former iron curtain superpower.

The idea is to bring the Russians in at the very beginning of discussions on certain issues. If the allies are unable to reach agreement with Russia, they can meet at 19 and make a decision.

"We'll try to do a great deal at 20, but NATO works at 19 and will continue to do so," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told AP.

French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine called Russia's reaction to the September 11 attacks in the United States "remarkable," saying President Vladimir Putin had made a "strategic choice" on the new role of Russia in the world.

In return, NATO "must respond with an equally decisive overture," he said.

During his first day in Brussels, Powell also said that an international peacekeeping force would be sent into Afghanistan, although "the mix and the leadership" had yet to be determined.

He told a news conference at NATO headquarters that the new interim post-Taliban government formed on Wednesday had requested the presence of international peacekeepers.

"There will be no shortage of troops," Powell said.

He said it would be just a matter of time until the last remnants of Taliban control ended.

"Now, more than ever, NATO matters," he added.