BRUSSELS : A Touchy Issue
Defense ministers from the 16 North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations are expected to discuss closer cooperation with former Communist bloc nations Wednesday and Thursday in their last gathering before next month’s scheduled summit meeting of their bosses.
On the table is a proposal by U.S. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin that would open the way for greater contact while stopping short of extending a formal invitation for the newly independent countries of Central and Eastern Europe to join the Western alliance--a move Moscow opposes.
At a separate session Thursday, the ministers are expected to review the status of NATO’s nuclear deterrent in Europe, already reduced by about 80% since the end of the Cold War.
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