Gates: Nation's ties to West pose no threat to Russia

TALLINN, Estonia - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that Russia should not feel threatened when Eastern European countries strengthen their ties to the West.

Speaking briefly to reporters after meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, Gates said they discussed Russia's recent behavior, including its invasion of Georgia in August.

"Russia has no need to impede a sovereign country's desire to more fully integrate with the West," said Gates, as he stood next to Ansip. "Doing so is not a threat to Russian security, nor is further cooperation on cyber issues."

Asked about his country's security, Ansip said that he fully expects that NATO would defend Estonia, which is a member of the North Atlantic alliance.

Gates added that the United States continually reviews its assessment of the security situation in the region and that officials from US European Command were in Estonia last month for talks on the matter.

Gates is visiting Estonia for the first time to attend a meeting of NATO defense ministers in a deliberate show of support for Eastern European nations, including the Baltics and Ukraine.

The meeting comes as tension rises between Moscow and Washington, including ongoing discord over US plans to put a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Yesterday there were reports that the Kremlim has rejected a second set of US proposals meant to ease Russian objections to the planned missile defense system.

According to Russian news agencies, an unnamed Kremlin official said Moscow was prepared to work with Washington on European security. But the official accused the Bush administration of trying to limit the incoming Obama administration's choices on the issue.