Mar 25, 2009 8:45 am US/Pacific
Obama, NATO Chief Talk Afghanistan, Russia
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
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A US soldier (left) and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand guard as (unseen) policemen destroy poppy fields in Nadi Ali district, one of Afghanistan's top opium producers in Helmand province on Feb. 5, 2009.
Shah Marai
President Barack Obama says he and the NATO secretary-general on Wednesday discussed increasing alliance effectiveness in the fight against Islamic militants in Afghanistan.
Obama said he hopes the talks and the upcoming new U.S. plan for the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida would "invigorate" NATO participation in the U.S.-led operation, now in its 8th year.
The president and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (yahp duh hohp SKEHF'-ur) also spoke about Obama's desire to put U.S.-Russian relations on a stronger footing during their 25-minute talk in the Oval Office. Obama said he was hoping to improve U.S. links with Moscow in a context consistent with NATO membership. The alliance was founded after World War II to counter Soviet expansion in Europe.
Scheffer said that NATO and Russia needed each other and should not hide their differences but should instead air them in careful negotiations.
The two men met Wednesday ahead of the NATO summit in Europe early next month, marking the alliance's 60th anniversary.
Emphasizing his hopes of improving soured U.S.-Russian relations, Obama also sought to assure the NATO chief, who retires this summer, that the United States would not do that at the expense of alliance solidarity.
"My administration is seeking a reset of the relationship with Russia," Obama said, "but in a way that's consistent with NATO membership, and consistent with the need to send a clear signal throughout Europe that we are going to be abide by the central belief that countries who seek and aspire to join NATO are able to join NATO."
Russia and the United States have grown deeply at odds over many issues since ties began worsening after a honeymoon period when the Soviet Union collapsed nearly two decades ago.
Scheffer joined Obama in the spirit of reconciliation with the Kremlin.
"We have many things on which we disagree. But NATO needs Russia and Russia needs NATO. So let's work on the things we agree on and let's not hide our disagreements. Let us realize that also this relationship can and, in my opinion, should be strengthened," said Scheffer, sitting next to Obama in the Oval Office.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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