Nato to reach out to Russia on missile defence

On 8 October 2010, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen laid out the direction NATO's new Strategic Concept was taking in a public speech in Brussels, Belgium, hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).

He said that if there was agreement at a Nato summit in Lisbon from 19-20 November 2010 to have a Nato missile defence shield, Russia would be invited to co-operate.

NATO Ministers of Defence and of Foreign Affairs met together on 14 October 2010 in Brussels to give final political guidance in preparation for the meeting of Allied Heads of State and Government at the forthcoming NATO Summit in Lisbon, on 19 and 20 November 2010.

The Summit was expected to set the course for the Alliance over the next decade, including reform of the organisation. The agenda of the ministerial meetings in Brussels covered a wide area, but focussed on NATO reform, the new Strategic Concept and missile defence.

• Primary Source

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, 15.10.10: Russia divides the alliance (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/362691-russia-divides-alliance

NATO: NATO-Russia relations http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_51105.htm

NATO: Speech, 8.10.10: The New Strategic Concept: Active engagement, modern defence http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/opinions_66727.htm

ESO: Background information: NATO's new Strategic Concept http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-natos-new-strategic-concept/

EurActiv, 15.10.10: US wants EU to spend more on defence http://www.euractiv.com/en/foreign-affairs/us-wants-eu-spend-more-defence-news-498781

BBC News, 13.10.10: Nato considers new mission statement http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11538523

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EUObserver, 15.10.10: Nato inches closer to new strategic concept http://euobserver.com/9/31050

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