The restoration of relations between Russia and NATO at the highest level will be announced today

NATO and Russia are taking a step toward restoring relations frozen after the August war in South Ossetia. Alliance foreign ministers in Brussels reached a basic agreement to resume formal contacts with Moscow. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has already backed the decision, but the final outcome depends on unanimous support from all 26 ministers. That same day the alliance will meet with representatives of Georgia and Ukraine, underscoring the sensitivity of the decision.

Russia and NATO are restoring diplomatic relations that were frozen after the August war in South Ossetia. The foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance member states are ready to announce the resumption of formal relations with Moscow at the highest level. The bloc’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has already supported this decision.
The foreign ministers of NATO member states reached a principled agreement at a meeting in Brussels on restoring ties with Russia at the highest level.
On Thursday, meetings will also be held between NATO representatives and partners from Georgia and Ukraine. And NATO spokesman James Appathurai later confirmed that the alliance’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had spoken in support of reconciliation with Moscow.
The process of restoring relations was long and difficult.
In December 2008, the foreign ministers of the allied countries agreed on a phased approach toward Russia: they allowed NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to resume political contacts with Moscow and agreed on the need for informal discussions through the Russia–NATO Council (RNC). Scheffer was tasked with informing the ministers about interaction with Russia before they decide whether to further intensify contacts with Moscow.
After that, informal dialogue was resumed on January 26, when Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, met with the ambassadors of the 26 North Atlantic Alliance member states.
Finally, today an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Alliance member states will take place in Brussels. One of the main issues will be the alliance’s relations with Russia. Dmitry Rogozin expects a decision on the resumption of full-scale interaction between Russia and the alliance.
Thus, relations are being restored, but one important detail cannot be overlooked: decisions in the alliance are made unanimously, which means it cannot be ruled out that, for example, one of the Eastern European countries will not agree to restore relations with Russia. “The NATO Secretary General’s position is to resume cooperation, but everything is in the hands of the 26 foreign ministers,” the source concluded. To reassure the NATO members most critical of Russia, meetings between the delegations of Ukraine and Georgia and the foreign ministers of the alliance member states will also take place on Thursday.