US President Mr George W. Bush urged NATO allies on today to rethink security strategy, claiming he had allayed some of their concerns on missile defence, and rejected criticism he was acting unilaterally.
Calling on alliance partners to face up to new security threats, Mr Bush said it was time to bury a Cold War mentality forever.
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Mr Bush, attending an informal alliance summit in the Belgian capital, said he was pleased with the response he had from NATO heads of government.
"We're not asking our allies to sign on to a specific system. We're asking our allies...and Russia...to think differently about the post-Cold War era," he said.
Mr Bush said a first step in that reassessment would be to set aside the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty so the US, and its allies, could test all the missile defence options.
"The new threats are threats based upon uncertainty. The threat that somebody who hates freedom, or hates America, or hates the allies, or hates Europe, will try to blow us up," he said.
Alliance Secretary-General Mr George Robertson said the summit had given European partners an important opportunity to engage directly with Mr Bush. But he said there was never any question of rushing into decisions.
Many US allies fear plans for a missile defence shield, designed to prevent nuclear blackmail by rogue states, could upset three decades of strategic stability under the ABM treaty. Opponents, like Russia and China, warn it could spark a new arms race.
"What the president (Bush) asked for, and what the president got was an open mind by the other allied countries to look at the risks and emerging threats that exist against NATO countries and to deep and continued consultation about American thinking on the matter and to listen carefully to thoughts expressed by the other allies," Mr Robertson said
Making his first official European trip, Mr Bush has run into strong criticism on missile defence, his decision to abandon the 1997 Kyoto treaty on cutting greenhouse gases believed by many to cause global warming, and on Monday's execution of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Several hundred demonstrators waved banners and blew whistles near NATO headquarters to protest against United States policy on arms and on global warming.
Greenpeace said 30 activists from 12 countries had been arrested after carrying out a series of protests against Mr Bush's missile defence plans and his government's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol.
Bush was due later to meet Belgian Prime Minister Mr Guy Verhofstadt and King Albert II and Queen Paola, before flying to Sweden tomorrow for a European Union summit.
He is then due to visit Poland and Slovenia, where he will hold talks with Russian President Mr Vladimir Putin.