NATO Chief Starts Job, Pledges Expansion East

Former Spanish Foreign Minister Javier Solana started his new job as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Tuesday and pledged to expand the alliance eastward to take in former Cold War foes.

Russia is deeply uneasy about NATO’s enlargement plans. Solana balanced his comments with emphasis on the need to cooperate with Russia.

“Russia and NATO both have much to gain from each other, and we must construct a permanent framework of trust and cooperation between us. . . . We wish to build a new security architecture with, not against, Russia,” he told reporters after entering the alliance headquarters.

Solana, a 53-year-old physicist turned politician, will chair his first meeting as secretary-general, NATO’s top job, today--the same day the alliance takes over the reins from the United Nations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.