NATO’s new chief calls for closer strategic relationship with Russia

October 8th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia believes that a new strategic arms reduction deal with the US should be signed before cuts in tactical nuclear weapons are discussed, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "As to tactical nuclear weapons, we share the view expressed by (US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs) Alexander Vershbow that the discussion of this issue is premature," ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

September 18th, 2009 BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Friday called for a new beginning in NATO-Russia relations and conducting a joint review of new security challenges. "A time-out may have been useful to rethink our relationship.

September 3rd, 2009 MOSCOW - President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has expressed a desire to enhance bilateral trade ties with Russia. While addressing a gathering of expatriate Indians and some prominent Russians during the course of her five-day visit, Patil said, the only area where India-Russia relationship is lagging is in the field of bilateral economic cooperation.

August 11th, 2009 NATO chief calls for closer ties with RussiaBRUSSELS — NATO's new Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called Tuesday for a closer strategic partnership with Russia to tackle common security challenges. During a meeting with Russia's envoy to the alliance, Fogh Rasmussen said the NATO-Russia Council — a panel formed in 2004 to improve ties between the Cold War rivals — should become a forum for cooperation on strategic issues, deputy spokeswoman Carmen Romero said.

August 3rd, 2009 NATO's new secretary-general takes up postBRUSSELS — Anders Fogh Rasmussen started work on Monday as NATO's new secretary-general, part of a team assembled by President Barack Obama to lead the war effort in Afghanistan. Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister, was greeted by the alliance's top civilian and military leaders as he arrived at NATO headquarters.

August 3rd, 2009 NATO chief: More UN, EU help needed in AfghanistanBRUSSELS — NATO needs more international help from the United Nations and European Union to secure and rebuild Afghanistan, the alliance's new civilian chief said Monday. "NATO will do its part but it cannot do it alone, this needs to be an international effort, both military and civilian," said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister who took office earlier in the day as NATO's new secretary-general.

July 31st, 2009 BRUSSELS - The last time NATO handed over to a new secretary general, in 2004, the alliance had 19 members, a handful of troops in Afghanistan and a diplomatic hangover from the US-led Iraq war. When Denmark's former prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 56, takes over the role Saturday, he will inherit a club which has grown to 28 members, an Afghan mission numbering 64,500 men and diplomatic headaches stretching from Georgia to the Gulf of Aden.

July 30th, 2009 Former Danish leader to take over as NATO chiefBRUSSELS — Former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen takes over as NATO's new secretary general on Monday as part of a team assembled by President Barack Obama to lead the war effort in Afghanistan. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who stepped down Thursday as NATO's leader, has repeatedly warned that the war in Afghanistan represents a crucial test of the power and relevance of the 60-year-old alliance.

July 7th, 2009 Obama calls for more rule of law in RussiaMOSCOW — President Barack Obama called Tuesday for more transparency and rule of law if the United States and Russia are to boost economic ties. "We need to make it easier for U.S.

July 7th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday praised the new pact by the US and Russia to reduce by as much as a third of their nuclear arsenals, which was reached in Moscow between the leaders of the two countries. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed Monday a Joint Understanding for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START), committing themselves to reduce strategic warheads to a range of 1,500-1,675, and their strategic delivery vehicles to a range of 500-1,000.

May 19th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia and the US have started the first round of talks here on a new strategic arms reduction treaty, the Russian foreign ministry said Tuesday. The US delegation is led by Rose Gottemoeller, US assistant secretary of state and the Russian side is headed by Anatoly Antonov, director of the security and disarmament department of the Russian foreign ministry.

May 6th, 2009 Report: Russia to expel Canadians in NATO responseMOSCOW — Russia will expel two Canadian diplomats in retaliation for NATO's recent expulsion of two Russian envoys from the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, a Russian news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry official as saying Wednesday. The director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow, Isabelle Francois, and a colleague were likely to be expelled, Interfax reported.

April 28th, 2009 EU optimistic on renewing ties with RussiaLUXEMBOURG — The European Union's foreign policy chief says he is optimistic the European Union can follow the lead of the U.S. in rebuilding ties with Russia.

February 9th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia was ready to hold talks with the new US administration on cuts in strategic offensive weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday. 'We are ready for talks, which will allow us to preserve the mechanism of limitations and reductions of strategic offensive weapons and we are glad that the new US administration is paying priority attention to this subject,' Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Vesti-24 TV news channel.

January 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US and Georgia Friday signed a strategic partnership pact here, vowing to deepen cooperation in the defence and security sectors. 'Georgia is a very important partner of the US, a valued partner,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, adding that, the US-Georgia relationship rests 'on shared values of democracy, security and economic prosperity'.