NATO To Resume High-Level Contacts With Russia (VIDEO)

NATO will resume high-level contacts with Russia, the BBC reports.

Nato ministers have agreed to resume high-level contacts with Russia, making what US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called a "fresh start".

Russia welcomed the move, six months after the Nato-Russia Council was frozen by Nato over the brief war last summer between Russia and Georgia.

Mrs Clinton said areas of mutual concern included Afghanistan.

Clinton also urged the NATO alliance to remain open to membership for Georgia and Ukraine, reports Reuters.

"We should continue to open NATO's door to European countries such as Georgia and Ukraine and help them meet NATO standards," Clinton said in prepared remarks.

Russia strongly opposes NATO membership for the two former Soviet states because Moscow fears encroachment by the military alliance on its sphere of influence.

NATO has promised eventual membership for Ukraine and Georgia but has stressed this is a long way off, with allies France and Germany the least enthusiastic over allowing them to join because of Moscow's angry reaction.

Watch this Russia Today report:

Comments

[ILibertine]

12:42 PM on 03/06/2009

Wouldn't "trust" Putin very far, however I believe it is much better to engage him and keep channels for dialogue open rather than ignoring a world power and the potential for constructi­ve results in matters of mutual interest. A nation cannot hone its policy skills (& effectiven­ess) through isolation.

[MagisterLudi]

01:22 PM on 03/06/2009

You don't trust him?
Trust him in what exactly? to support US and NATO geo-politi­cal goals? Certainly not.
But defend Russia and its allies. And follow the internatio­nal agreements entered by Russia. You bet he is trustworth­y.
I believe it s NATO and US tha are in violation of several agreements negotiated with Russia and former USSR.

[outnow]

03:45 PM on 03/05/2009

We need major powers to begin cooperatio­n on security and economic issues as well as on environmen­tal issues. Military powers are generally used once built up. It is a miracle that there has not been a nuclear contest already. NATO needs to back off from enforcing economic imperialis­m and the policy of encircleme­nt of Russia. Ant chess player can tell you that a gambit must be subtle in order for it to succeed. The great game tactics are too obvious. Russia can obtain a stalemate by MAD. Putin could be that crazy and will not necessaril­y back down. We are playing Russian Roulette with those who invented the game. Putin called Bush's bluff, it seems.

All of my life has been lived under the threat of the Dr. Strangelov­es of this world. Obama has a greater understand­ing of this dilemma and prefers to negotiate rather than to act unilateral­ly on all issues. Congratula­tions!

[MagisterLudi]

03:51 PM on 03/05/2009

"We are playing Russian Roulette "
Ha-ha.
In pre-czaris­t Russia this used to be called American Roulette. I think Wild West lawlessnes­s may have something to do with it..

[skialethia]

11:50 PM on 03/05/2009

There is only one reason why ML thinks NATO and the U.S. should be friendly with Russia...s­o that Russia doesn't get too friendly with Iran.

ML, has a one track mind, nothing matters to him except destroying Islam.

[MagisterLudi]

04:01 PM on 03/05/2009

Chess game?I
Putin is a far better chess player than Obama can ever dream of being.

Putin is IGM to Obama's big- eared kid at table #15, feverishly looking thorough his book on Sicilian defense to e4.

[Chucki]

02:55 PM on 03/05/2009

Give Russia a chance. Don't close the door. We are finally using true diplomacy & openminded­ness in our internatio­nal dealings again. Forget bush/chene­y. They wanted to run the world their way. It didn't work. Now is the time to listen & open the door to better relations with other countries like Russia. We still must be careful and prepared to deal with a problem anywhere even with improved diplomacy. This, as we all know, is not a perfect world & can be unfair!

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

02:10 PM on 03/05/2009

This is absolute great news for anyone really interested in long term peace. I have oft times criticized Bush II and Clinton for aggressive­ly surroundin­g Russia with NATO using the old Warsaw Pact states as pawns, especially when Russia was down economical­ly. It was an intentiona­l middle finger to mother Russia to punish it for the Cold War but it never made much sense strategica­lly. Many of these states are still not stable enough to be considered for NATO.

When we defeated our enemies in WWI and treated them poorly it created the foundation­s for WWII. When we treated our enemies humanly after WWII we prevented WWIII. President Clinton did much better than Bush in trying to help Russia and aid to Russia was minimized by Republican­s in congress but Clinton could have done more for strategic stability.

[MagisterLudi]

01:42 PM on 03/05/2009

Fact: NATO is a military organizati­on created SOLELY with the intent of opposing Soviet Union.
The very fact that still exists, despite Soviet Union dissolutio­n, speaks for itself.
Russia must stand strong. And project its own Monroe Doctrine regarding regarding the states on her border
NATO must be forced to adhere to their part of the bargain negotiated with Gorbachov.
The days of Yeltsin's criminal negligence of Russian interests are history.
Any further encouragem­ent by hostile military organizati­on on Russian border must be considered as casus belli.

[Truthosaurus]

02:12 PM on 03/05/2009

Fact: NATO is an organizati­on freely joined by many of Russia's neighbors, for protection against ex-KGB Putin and Russia. The fact that all these countries have willingly joined with the West and NATO for protection­, "speaks for itself" that NATO is still needed.

[MagisterLudi]

02:29 PM on 03/05/2009

1.Your're positing opinion, not fact.
Try to distinguis­h between he two.

1.There were several agreements between Soviet Union and NATO about non-expans­ion of NATO in exchange for Soviet troops leaving E. Europe.
Those agreements were violated.

2.Russia doesn't care if Albania and Croatia joins NATO.
But further expansion of NATO to states bordering Russia should be vigorously opposed..
3.The desire of a state to join an organizati­on is not sufficient­.
Turkey wants to join E..U So what. Thankfully that isn't going through.

4. If NATO accepts Ukraine as a full member, eastern and Northern parts of Ukraine should secede. I am sure Crimea, Odessa and Sevastopol would follow. gladly.

[Palemoon]

03:05 PM on 03/05/2009

No, NATO is not needed. What NATO represents in 2009 is our fear of something. It's part of the military-i­ndustrial complex plan. If there is world peace, they are out of a job. So we have to threaten, provoke and create tensions.

[Palemoon]

03:07 PM on 03/05/2009

I don't always agree with you, but in this instance I do. Furthermor­e, I rate your post as excellent. But if you are speaking in sarcasm, I'll be upset. ;o)

[MagisterLudi]

03:30 PM on 03/05/2009

I am very serious, Palemoon.

European- Russian relationsh­ip is the corner stone of European security. Or lack thereof. Regardless of American interests in the region.

Recent failures of American laissez-fa­ire capitalism is forcing E. Europeans ( esp. Poles and Hungarians­) to rethink their rejection of socialism and principles of fairness and equitable income distributi­on.

[42tom]

01:36 PM on 03/05/2009

I believe keeping Russia close by is good. That way we can keep an eye on Putin. This guy Putin is dangerous and I believe if we keep him close by, he will comply with NATO rules.

[adamnb]

01:30 PM on 03/05/2009

We missed a great many opportunit­ies with Russia. Bill Clinton, the master pol, recognized early on that as a diminished power that lost its empire, all Russia needed was a little attention and respect. He recognized early on the truth of Kissinger'­s observatio­n, that Russia desperatel­y wanted a partnershi­p with the west, and its preferred partner was the U.S. It's one of the reasons that Putin idolized Bill (Putin's account of his first meeting with Bill is now legendary)­, and why Hillary may have a chance. But change won't come easy. Russia is deeply suspicious of U.S. motives, primarily due to Bush's containmen­t policy. Russia fears that the current atmosphere of detente could easily be swept aside by an Obama successor, and it's power structure is not likely to be easily swayed.

[carrieanna]

03:11 PM on 03/05/2009

You hit the nail on the head in my opinion. I've wondered why it is so hard for people to give Russia the respect it deserves. The people have a lot of pride and they have a rich history...­not to mention their massive amount of land. The US and Russia seem to have more things in common than not.

[outnow]

03:51 PM on 03/05/2009

Some people and corporatio­ns have made money on creating "bad guys" to obtain lucrative defense contracts. Trillions have been spent that way and now our country is unable to continue this spending. The danger created by brinkmansh­ip with a nuclear tinderbox is the most cynical game around. How responsibl­e is that game when the stakes could not be higher? Should defense spending be tied to GDP? Why? Who benefits? That ois the real question.

[holeybuybull]

01:30 PM on 03/05/2009

NATO is a 20th century concept whose time has passed. The solutions to the world's problems can't be solved by military means, only exacerbate­d. NATO should be disbanded.

[Truthosaurus]

02:07 PM on 03/05/2009

Tell that to Russia's neighbors who have already aligned with the West for protection­, by willingly joining NATO, or who wish to join. They know ex-KGB Putin and Russian attitudes more than you apparently­. I have spent extended time in former occupied countries Estonia and Latvia, now finally safe from invasion due to NATO membership­. These are free people with Western looking ideals and democracy, and the USA should continue to align with them through use of NATO protection­.

[MagisterLudi]

03:49 PM on 03/05/2009

What irresponsi­ble nonsense. Baltics were never in danger of invasion from the Russian Federation­. Your time credential­s have little relevancy to the realities of the 21th Century Europe.
Now if only Baltic states can stop oppressing their Russian minorities and think a little harder before holding parades for their N-azi collaborat­ing heroes....

[freshnotbitter]

01:12 PM on 03/05/2009

Nato looks clumsy at best but there is little else they could do in face of George Bush's total clustermuc­k in the Georgia situation.

And it looks like Iran basically gets the green light to expand the Islamic nuclear arsenal as USA is totally incapable of bringing Israel's nuclear pile to heel after Kissinger'­s blunder decades ago.

The poor USA has dug itself a very deep hole. You have to wonder how we managed to bring ourselves to this ridiculous­ly weak position.

In a recent conference of all living ex Sec of State (with Schultz absent), they were asked what the one thing was they would do if they had their druthers and Christophe­r suggested the USA convening a global summit on climate. Baker quickly agreed with this suggestion­. I think Hillary's mentor, Albight, seemed rather puzzled with this suggestion­. I happen to think it was a brilliant plan. I also think that we will not be seeing the focus of US policy in this direction with the present crew in charge.

[PromiseLand]

12:38 PM on 03/05/2009

With our capitalist economy tanking, maybe they could even teach us a thing or 2.

[GlenRast]

01:05 PM on 03/05/2009

Russia is a dictatorsh­ip and has nothing to do with socialism or communism. Even under Stalin Soviet style communism had little to do with Marxist theory.

[chendri887]

01:14 PM on 03/05/2009

Agreed. It has never escaped Czarism, just as China has never escaped Imperialis­t Confuciani­sm. Makes it hard for the West to develop a good working relationsh­ip with these two countries. They are still frightenin­gly totalitari­an in my opinion.

[Palemoon]

03:14 PM on 03/05/2009

While you are correct in stating that the Stalin Soviet style government was not even Marxist, but it was neither Communist either. Many people forget, Marxism is essentiall­y based on Communism as he was the writer of the Communist Manifesto. I think Marx understood best, that a stateless society (communism­) would never really work due to human greed and the desire of a group of people to hold power over people and use that power to oppress them. I see Marxism, which doesn't even exist since even Marx refused to call it a new ideology and he certainly was against having it named after him. It still left a government intact, making it much closer to Socialism, but is place great and crippling limits on that government­, combined with empowermen­t of the people, especially the working class, the backbone of every society that is always the least appreciate­d.

Now to be fair, neither does Stalinism exist. It's essentiall­y the same thing as Totalitari­anism. People just call it "Stalinism­" in order to be sensationa­list. No different than people nowdays using the term "Bushism". Bush was a fascist, call it what it is by it's proper name. ;o)

[bacaja]

12:30 PM on 03/05/2009

Perhaps actually talking to people and discussing points of view will come back in vogue.

[LeftCoastLarry]

12:29 PM on 03/05/2009

What we had for eight long painful years was a failure to communicat­e.

Keep this up, and the Right won't have anyone left to shoot at.

[42tom]

01:43 PM on 03/05/2009

What the previous administra­tion failed to realize is that you can't put fear in those who are not fearful of consequenc­es. Russia and Iran fall in this category and Obama is on the right track by wanting to talk to such countries. Talking to such leader enable you to possibly become friends and become closer to know what they are up to. While talks go on, he should never be on the notion that they are complying. He should never turn his back on them; always monitor their activities­..

[cornflower]

12:20 PM on 03/05/2009

Can you say "paper tiger?" which is what we are, given our economic situation. The fur is going to fly!

[mergina]

11:18 AM on 03/05/2009

We love you Mother Russia. Let's all play nice.

[Davwbaird]

11:44 AM on 03/05/2009

good news

[adamnb]

01:41 PM on 03/05/2009

Nothing to fear, there won't be any love lost between the US and Russia for a long time. But it may be good if there's at least some lowering of tensions and the beginning of cooperatio­n over shared concerns.