NATO split will not hamper meeting with Russia - expert

Adrian Pabst, an expert on European and international affairs at Britain's Kent University, said that disagreements inside NATO would not get into way of a forthcoming Russia-NATO council meeting.

“Obama’s administration is very committed to better relations with Russia, it was very clear when Obama visited Moscow in July,” Pabst said. “Other members like Germany and France… are also keen to better relations, so I do not think there will be any blocks when the ministerial meeting actually takes place.”

He went on to say that it was not surprising that NATO had no common position on its relations with Russia, as various splits existed in this organization throughout its history. But he expressed hope that the US would persuade its European partners to work out a common position regarding Russia.