Non-NATO countries pledge to help `fight the scourge of terrorism'

<br>PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) _ Promising to ``fight the scourge of terrorism,'' leaders of non-NATO nations stretching from Ireland to Central Asia pledged Friday to help the alliance secure

Friday, November 22nd 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) _ Promising to ``fight the scourge of terrorism,'' leaders of non-NATO nations stretching from Ireland to Central Asia pledged Friday to help the alliance secure peace and stability on both sides of the Atlantic.

NATO's two-day summit ended with a declaration of closer-than-ever ties between heads of state of the Western alliance and the former Soviet republics who provided vital military support to the Pentagon in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

``We all face the same new threats to the security of our people,'' NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said as NATO closed its first summit behind the former Iron Curtain.

After agreeing to expand the alliance deep into the territory of the former Soviet Union, the 19 NATO leaders devoted their second and final day of meetings to talks with the other 27 members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council on a better strategy for working together to ease the terrorist threat.

``They reaffirmed the resolve of their states to fight the scourge of terrorism,'' Robertson said.

NATO views the council as increasingly important in spreading stability and defense cooperation over three continents. It encompasses nations seeking to join the alliance such as Croatia and Albania, traditional neutrals like Sweden and Finland, and former Soviet states including Armenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

``The war against global terrorism must be waged on two tracks _ through direct operations on the ground, through strikes against terrorists, their strongholds and helpers, but also by longer-term action focused on eliminating the environment which breeds terrorism and sustains it,'' said Croatian President Stipe Mesic.

One senior alliance diplomat called countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus NATO's ``next frontier.'' He said building ties with them over the next 10 to 15 years would be a new priority following the last decade's outreach to eastern Europe.

``We have to be bold,'' Robertson told the leaders Friday. ``We have to look beyond traditional roles and infuse the whole process with new substance.''

Iraq continued to preoccupy leaders on the summit's final day, with Germany and France reiterating their reluctance to get involved militarily.

``There will be no direct participation by Germany,'' said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

``Saddam Hussein must understand that the solution offered by the U.N. Security Council must be strictly respected,'' said French President Jacques Chirac. ``This region really doesn't need another war.''

President Bush left the Prague meeting early for Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin in Pushkin. His mission was to reassure Moscow that it shouldn't be threatened by NATO's historic decision Thursday to invite in the Baltic nations of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

``The Atlantic alliance is America's most important global relationship,'' Bush said. ``We must be partners in the war on terrorism. We must be partners who share common values.''

Putin's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, met with key leaders Friday and said he welcomed NATO leaders' assurances that the alliance's expansion was not aimed against Russia.

Russia and NATO will increasingly work together as long as the alliance focuses on ``opposing new threats and challenges of this contemporary world _ the same challenges Russia is trying to counter today,'' Ivanov told a news conference.

At least two Russians clearly wanted nothing to do with the alliance. Two young Russian protesters shouted, ``NATO is worse than the Gestapo,'' and threw a tomato at Robertson, missing him as he gave a closing press conference.

Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meanwhile, were spared the discomfort of having to sit next to Ukraine's President, Leonid Kuchma, who showed up despite coming under isolation and criticism for his country's alleged sale of sensitive radar technology to Iraq. Organizers changed the seating arrangements, and Bush and Blair ended up on the other side of the room.

At the summit, the allies also agreed to create a 20,000-member rapid response force to deal more quickly with terrorist threats.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the new force ``will contribute a great deal to NATO's relevance,'' though he was unsure what the American contribution will be. He said he would press new NATO members to reform their militaries and discuss how they can focus on niche capabilities.

The seven new countries have ``militaries that were focused on the old Soviet model,'' he told reporters. ``If there is something no longer relevant to the 21st century, that is it. And these countries know that.''