Nato chief calls for closer ties with Russia

Nato’s top diplomat has called for an “open-minded and unprecedented dialogue” with Russia to reduce security tensions in Europe and confront common threats.

As he prepares for an effort to engage Moscow on European security, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who took over as secretary-general a month ago, said he wanted to begin an “open and frank conversation [with the Kremlin] that creates a new atmosphere”".

Russia should realise that NATO is here and that NATO is a framework for our transatlantic relationship," he told the Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday.

"But we should also take into account that Russia has legitimate security concerns," he said.

Although differences remained between the two sides, he said he had a "vision" of a "true strategic partnership" in which both sides collaborated on Afghanistan, terrorism and piracy. . More