Rice: Go Slow On Cooperation With Russia

United States, Europe Differ On Engagement With Russia Months After Georgia War

(AP)  The NATO alliance should be cautious in welcoming Russia as a sometime partner, and avoid overt military cooperation with fighting forces that invaded a much smaller neighbor last summer, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

"In principle, we don't have any problem with it," Rice said. But the timing of renewed cooperation should be subject to several considerations, including whether Russia is meeting its cease-fire commitments, or "acting on its quite ill-tempered decision" to recognize two breakaway Georgian provinces as independent.

"Those are ... the touchstones of when it makes sense," Rice told reporters during a goodbye stop in London on Monday. She has more goodbyes Tuesday in Brussels, where she sees NATO allies.

Two days of NATO talks had been expected to focus on Georgia's and Ukraine's hopes of joining the alliance.

France and Germany have warned against opening pre-membership talks with Ukraine and Georgia, saying such a move could antagonize Russia.

The U.S. government has backed away from its call for Ukraine and Georgia to be prepared for NATO membership. But it says NATO should offer the post-Soviet nations more help in modernizing their militaries and bolstering their democracies.

Rice's remarks suggested that the U.S. is also considering relaxing its opposition to restoring ties with Russia, although she tried to highlight the consequences to Russia of what the U.S. considers a disproportionate war.

"I think you'd want to be very careful, for instance, about doing things that look military-to-military, because the Russian military is still sitting in the secessionist states," Rice said. She was referring to the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which the U.S.-backed government in Georgia claims.

"This turned out badly for Russia, very badly," Rice said. Russia failed to bring down the Georgian government, its economy or international support, Rice said.

"If they did anything, they managed to increase international support for Georgia, not decrease it."

Rice is cutting her attendance at the NATO session short to travel to India, scene of a 60-hour terrorist rampage last week.

The NATO session will still include discussion of the change in U.S. strategy on preparing Georgia and Ukraine for NATO membership amid opposition in Europe and Russia.

Last week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said the two countries could bypass a program intended to prepare countries for membership but eventually join it anyway.

The move could be an attempt to reframe a losing debate with some European countries ahead of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Some member countries have opposed allowing Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP) and blocked a U.S. push for offering the program at the alliance's April summit. However, the alliance said at the summit that the two countries would eventually become members and agreed to discuss the issue at the foreign minister's meeting.

With the alliance still divided on the issue, the United States is now looking for a new way to win membership for the countries.

Fried said he expects the foreign ministers to affirm NATO support for building a missile defense system in Europe. Those plans have also fueled tensions with Moscow.