Military talks signal a US-Russian thaw
Mullen meets counterpart in Finland
HELSINKI - The top US military officer held "businesslike" talks on Georgia, Afghanistan, and missile defense with his Russian counterpart yesterday, a signal of thawing relations between the two powers.
Held at an isolated manor house in Finland, it was the highest-level military meeting between the two countries since Russia's war with US ally Georgia in August. The conflict strained already tense ties between Washington and Moscow.
Admiral Michael G. Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russian General Nikolai Makarov "discussed a wide range of issues, including the future of NATO and the current status of missile defense systems in Europe," said Kim Hargan, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Finland.
Mullen later called US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, saying they had a "productive, businesslike conversation," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said in Washington, adding that Gates was pleased with the outcome.
A US defense official said Makarov, who became Russia's top military officer in June, suggested the meeting and that the two military leaders covered a range of topics including Georgia, Black Sea operations, and Afghanistan as it related to NATO involvement.
Makarov told Russia's RIA-Novosti news agency that they talked about the resumption of the Russia-NATO Council, which was suspended after the Georgia war. A decision on resuming the council, a forum that brought NATO countries and Russia together, will be made in November or December "and this question remains in the American's court," Makarov was quoted as saying.
The United States sharply criticized Russia's invasion of Georgia, a stalwart US ally and aspiring NATO member. It has received hundreds of millions of dollars in economic aid and its armed forces received extensive training from US instructors.
Those moves irked Russia, which views Georgia as part of its historical sphere of influence and fears the prospect of another former Soviet republic joining NATO.
Washington and Moscow have also clashed over US plans to base elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia fears the system would be used either to spy on its military or reduce its nuclear deterrent.
Finnish Major Juha Makela, a researcher at the National Defense University in Helsinki, described yesterday's meeting as a major step forward in US-Russian relations.
"It shows they are really trying to talk about matters at a practical level," Makela said. "This is probably a first phase in a round of talks that will end up with discussions at a political level."
Makarov told the ITAR-Tass agency that he and Mullen agreed to discuss military matters "periodically" by phone "and if necessary, in face-to-face talks."
After the Georgia-Russia crisis broke out Aug. 6, Mullen spoke on the phone with Makarov, who presided over Russia's incursion into Georgia over the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the American Forces Press Service said, quoting an unidentified source.
The report said after the fighting started the men discussed the flight of US Air Force C-17 transport jets that carried Georgian troops serving in Iraq back to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and later they discussed the USS Mount Whitney, which carried humanitarian supplies to the Georgian port of Poti.
Makarov gave assurances that Russia would not interfere with the US military movements, the Pentagon report said.
Two months ago, Russia halted military cooperation with NATO, accusing the West of "double standards" over the Georgia conflict. However, it said it still wanted to keep working with the alliance to fight terrorism and drug trafficking. 