& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Nato signs military accord with Russia

AFP, Vilnius
Nato signed a landmark military accord with Russia yesterday, highlighting progress in strengthening relations with its former Cold War foe at an unprecedented meeting held in a former Soviet republic.
Meeting in Lithuania, Nato foreign ministers also vowed to do everything possible to help Ukraine push through reforms needed to move towards the West, after an 'Orange Revolution' which has threatened to strain ties with Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov inked the military deal with his Nato counterparts including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at talks in Lithuania, one of three former Soviet republics that joined the alliance last year.
Other key items on the menu of the two-day informal talks include the future of alliance missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo -- as well as reflection on a possible Nato role in the Middle East.
The "status of forces agreement" between Nato and Moscow will make it easier for the two sides to organise joint exercises and training and, for example, allow Nato troops to transit through Russian territory and vice versa.
Nato officials call the accord a key step forward in relations with Moscow, which were transformed by the geopolitical changes after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The agreement "is indeed a
milestone of Nato-Russia cooperation. It is also a clear signal that the course of cooperation... is fixed and well on track," said Nato chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
The accord, which will have to be ratified by the Russian Duma before coming into force, could for example be used to cover Nato troops heading for Afghanistan, where the alliance heads a peacekeeping force, said a spokesman.
The US secretary of state arrived in Vilnius directly from the Russian capital, where she criticised Russia's democratic record but nevertheless called the country a "strategic partner."
Rice, as well as attending the talks with her Russian counterpart Thursday, will also sit in on a meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Commission.
The former Soviet republic sent out feelers about eventual membership in Nato after last year's "Orange Revolution," which fueled tensions between Moscow and the West after pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko won the presidency.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk on Thursday hailed a "new chapter" in ties with Nato after the alliance unveiled a package of new measures to boost Nato-Ukraine relations, including concrete help in defence reform.