NATO today prepared to sign a deal with Russia that is seen as a key to the Western alliance's transformation to tackle post-September 11th security threats.
Russian Foreign Minister Mr Igor Ivanov was scheduled to join Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell and other NATO ministers to wrap up five months of talks on a new council in which Russia will sit with the 19 NATO nations to formulate joint policy on terrorism and other shared threats.
The new NATO-Russia Council would deal with issues likely to include terrorism, arms proliferation, missile defence, peacekeeping, management of regional crises, search and rescue efforts and arms control.
At the two-day meeting in Iceland's capital, NATO leaders also planned to review alliance plans to invite new members from Eastern Europe this year a process that rankles Russia.
They will also examine how to close the widening gap between US military might and Europe's outdated armed forces, and how to modernize and refocus the alliance to confront the threat from terrorism.
"The terrorist attacks on the United States were a . . . wake-up call," NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said. He warned the ministers that neither their citizens "nor history will judge us kindly if we do not take bold steps to protect them from these new threats".
AP