NATO CHIEF SAYS RUSSIA IS A PARTNER, NOT A THREAT

ALMATY, Kazakstan: NATO no longer sees Russia as a threat, but as a partner
in efforts to combat weapons proliferation and drug smuggling, NATO
Secretary-General George Robertson said in Kazakstan on Tuesday.

We no longer regard Russia as a menace," Robertson said during a visit
to Kazakstan's capital Astana, in remarks carried on national
television. He said Russia and the U.S.-led alliance are cooperating
in fighting drug trafficking and weapons proliferation.

Robertson is on a tour of Central Asia for talks on regional security
and military cooperation. He met Kazak officials Tuesday, and is to
leave Wednesday for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

NATO's interest in the region has raised some concern in Russia, which
is keen to strengthen its influence in Central Asia. Russia strongly
opposes NATO's eastward expansion and froze relations with the
alliance over its bombing against Yugoslavia last year, though some
ties resumed after Robertson visited Moscow this spring. AP