NATO to restore ties with Russia

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-03-2008 09:36

Over in in Brussels. NATO foreign ministers meeting have agreed on a gradual resumption of contacts with Russia. Ties have been suspended since Moscow's conflict with Georgia in August.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer holds a news conference during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at  Alliance headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2008. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the alliance agreed to re-engage with Russia in a conditional and graduated manner.

He says the suspended ambassador-level NATO-Russia Council will meet again on an informal basis.

The US also dropped previous resistance, but Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stressed the decision doesn't mean a return to normal relations with Russia.

Rice also reached a compromise with Germany over how to manage the entry ambitions of Ukraine and Georgia.