Rice warns Nato members of Russia military contacts

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cautioned Nato members yesterday against military activities with Russia but said she did not oppose contacts via the Nato-Russia Council.

Dr Rice is set to attend a Nato foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels today where ties with Russia will be discussed. She urged members to be cautious while Moscow still had troops in Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Nato cancelled military exercises with Russia after the brief war in August between Moscow and Georgia and Dr Rice made clear she did not think these should be resumed.

"There are certain sorts of activities like military-to-military contacts that seem to me to be problematic when the Russian military is sitting in Georgian territory or the separatist states," she told reporters after meeting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

At the Brussels talks, foreign ministers will also review a decision to suspend high-level meetings on the main Nato-Russia dialogue forum, the Nato-Russia Council, following the conflict with Georgia.

Dr Rice said she was not opposed "in principle" to contacts with Russia via the council.

"I have no problems with the Nato-Russia Council activities but we should be very attentive to what the Russians are doing and whether they are living up to their obligations," she said.

"I do not want to make a general rule here," she added. She said Russia's "ill-tempered" decision to invade Georgia last August turned out badly and Moscow failed to bring down the Georgian government even though Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told her that was an aim.

At the height of the Georgia-Russia crisis, the US spearheaded international isolation of Russia but Dr Rice appeared to take a more conciliatory line yesterday.