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Russia Opposition Would Not Stop NATO Expansion: Rumsfeld
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saturday that Russian opposition would not stop NATO from taking in Baltic countries as new members.
Rumsfeld, who was meeting with defense ministers from Nordic and Baltic countries in Turku, Finland, emphasized that NATO adopts an open-door policy to the countries hoping to join it.
NATO will listen to and cooperate with Russia, but its eastward expansion will go ahead in spite of Russia's opposition, said Rumsfeld, adding that there would be no connection between the expansion and Washington's controversial missile defense system.
He said Moscow has no veto power over NATO expansion.
If the three Baltic countries -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - - joined NATO, it would mean NATO expansion into former Soviet territory for the first time. NATO has accepted Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic -- all former Soviet allies-- as new members and more eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Romania and Albania, are waiting for accession.
Rumsfeld said he appreciated the three Baltic countries for " good progress" in military efforts.
While refusing to comment on whether these three countries would be invited to participate in NATO's summit next year, Rumsfeld said evaluation works have just begun.
During the meeting in Turku, Rumsfeld tried to convince his counterparts from Nordic and Baltic countries of the need for a new missile defense system in substitution of the 1972 U.S.-Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. He pledged to continue negotiating this issue with Russia, which maintained its attachment to the ABM treaty.
Defense ministers from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania did not give their comment on this idea.
In the meeting, the participants also exchanged views on regional security and security cooperation among Baltic countries.
Defense ministers from Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark signed an agreement on strengthening their defense industry cooperation, according to which the Nordic countries commit themselves to providing military products to each other in a crisis situation.
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