Obama backs NATO expansion

[TriWooOx]

Quote:President Barack Obama says he backs the idea of a larger NATO despite his administration's intention to 'reset' ties with Russia.

"My administration is seeking a reset of the relationship with Russia," Obama said after an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, but insisted that countries who seek and aspire to join NATO must able to join NATO.

The comments come a week ahead of Obama's scheduled first meeting with his Russian counterpart President Dmitry Medvedev -- whose country strongly opposes NATO's eastward expansion -- on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summits in London.

Under the administration of former president George W. Bush, relations between the United States and Russia saw major strains on a number of issues, including Washington's backing of Georgian and Ukrainian bids for NATO membership.

Tensions between the two reached a breaking height in August 2008 when the Russian army stepped in to parry a Georgian offensive against South Ossetia. The move drew Washington's criticism of the military action in the black sea region, widely viewed as Russia's back yard.

While the 26-member military coalition prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary at the end of next week with a summit on the border of Germany and France, Obama said his goal was to help create a stronger NATO with an invigorated presence in Afghanistan.

"We have a set of challenges that require NATO to shift from the 20th century to the 21st century; issues of terrorism, failed states, nuclear proliferation, a whole host of new challenges as well as the traditional role NATO has played in preserving the territorial integrity of NATO members," he said.

The US president said his administration is elaborately reviewing its policy in Afghanistan, which he said will be on the top of the agenda in his talks with Washington's NATO-member allies at the summit.

"We believe that we are going to be able to ensure that the NATO members that made so many sacrifices and have been working so hard already are reinvigorated and that the coordination that is going to be taking place will make it even more effective for us as we complete a successful NATO mission," Obama added.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=89656...ctionid=3510203