Since the Russian conflict with Georgia six months ago, contacts between NATO and Russia had been frozen. NATO today revealed that high level ties will be renewed in an attempt to combat what is unanimously being referred to as the “bigger issue”, Afghanistan.

Given the current situation in Afghanistan, NATO is expressing the importance of working together with all nations capable of assisting. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said “It’s time to explore a fresh start,” and plans to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva tomorrow. Senior Russian officials have said that any re-alliance with NATO will be on Moscow’s own terms, still fully defending the conflict with Georgia; NATO conversely would still very much like to see the issues resolved in the open, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC.

“Russia is a global player. Not talking to them is not an option,” was the opinion of NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Secretary Clinton proposed an international conference for March 31 to map out future strategy to tackle the insurgency in Afghanistan: the consensus being that violence in the middle east is an incredibly serious issue at this time. Secretary Clinton remains confident that new organizational strategies and contributions from Europe will do much to better the situation in Afghanistan.

Though there are differences of opinion between Russia and other NATO figures, combating them will have to wait for a more reasonable time, senior officials said.

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