Saturday's NATO-Russia summit will become yet another step towards the "reset" of relations between Russia and the West and the strengthening of global security, U.S. President Barack Obama has said, RIA Novosti reported.
"Indeed, tomorrow we will build on the reset of U.S.-Russian relations by resetting relations between NATO and Russia as well through the NATO-Russia Council, which opens the door to cooperation on a range of security interests - cooperation that can lead to a more secure Europe and a more secure world," the U.S. president told the participants in the NATO summit in Lisbon.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with leaders of the 28 NATO member states for the first time since the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia that spoiled Moscow's relations with the alliance.
In his speech, Obama reiterated the need to ratify a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia. The treaty, which has been promoted by the two countries' leadership as a symbol of the long-awaited "reset" in their relations, was signed by Obama and Medvedev in April in Prague.
"As I've said, this is a national security imperative for the United States," Obama told the NATO leaders.
"Nobody is more aware of the need for a strong, secure and democratic Europe than our Eastern and Central European allies. And my friend, the Foreign Minister of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, put it well when he said that New START will - and I quote - 'bolster our country's security, and that of Europe as a whole,'" he said.
Obama warned that a failure to ratify the treaty would "put at risk the substantial progress that has been made in advancing our nuclear security and our partnership with Russia on behalf of global security."
The prospects for the treaty's ratification in the U.S. remain unclear after the November 2 mid-term elections. The Democrats need the support of at least eight Republicans to secure the two-thirds majority required for the treaty's ratification.
The agreement, however, has met strong Republican opposition in the Senate over concerns that it may weaken U.S. anti-missile defenses. Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have expressed their hopes to ratify the pact during the lame duck session.