VILNIUS - NATO signed a "milestone" accord bolstering its ties with former Cold War era foe Russia on Thursday, but clear strains with Moscow remain notably over US support for popular revolts in ex-Soviet states.
In the first such meeting on ex-Soviet soil, NATO foreign ministers in Vilnius also fueled Ukraine's hopes of one day joining the military alliance after its Orange Revolution overturning a pro-Russian leader last year.
The US-led alliance also used the two-day talks to look further afield, including to the Middle East where they agreed that the alliance could, if requested, consider a role in helping implement a future peace agreement.
But the centrepiece of the talks was a "status of forces agreement" between NATO and Moscow, designed to make it easier for the two sides to organize joint exercises and allow their troops to transit each other's territory.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov inked the military deal with his NATO counterparts including US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at talks in Lithuania, one of three former Soviet republics to join the alliance last year.
The agreement "is indeed a milestone of NATO-Russia cooperation. It is also a clear signal that the course of cooperation... is fixed and well on track," said NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
The US secretary of state arrived in Vilnius directly from the Russian capital, where she criticized Russia's democratic record but nevertheless called the country a "strategic partner."
She repeated praised for Russia Thursday, but at the same time backed a new NATO offer of help for Ukraine, where the election of pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko in December strained relations with Moscow, following on Georgia's Rose Revolution.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk hailed a "new chapter" in ties with NATO after the alliance unveiled the new measures, including concrete help for defence reform.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer vowed to do everything possible to help Ukraine carry out reforms needed to move towards joining the alliance, but underlined that only Kiev can determine if it can ultimately reach that goal.
"A further intensification of the NATO-Ukraine relationship will continue to be based on Ukraine's... implementation of reforms," he said, adding that help for Ukraine was "without prejudice to any eventual alliance decision."
In the sidelines of the Vilnius meeting, Rice also met Thursday with opposition leaders from neighbouring Belarus, which she described this week as "the last dictatorship" in the centre of Europe.
On Wednesday she said it was "time for change" in the ex-Soviet republic after the uprisings in Ukraine and Georgia.
That prompted Russia's foreign minister to say he was against "regime change" anywhere.
Other key items on the menu in Vilnius included the future of alliance missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo -- as well as reflection on a possible NATO role in the Middle East.
A NATO official said afterwards that all members agreed the alliance must be ready to consider a role supporting the Middle East peace process if asked for, but insist it is premature to discuss concrete options.
"In principle all allies are open to the idea that eventually, if asked, the alliance should at least consider" a role to support a peace agreement, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
On other issues, Washington said NATO should be ready to help alleviate suffering in Sudan's stricken Darfur region. "If asked to by the African Union. If there is a request, I would hope that NATO would act favourably," said Rice.
But opposition to a major NATO role in Darfur came immediately from France, which also appears to have reservations about alliance involvement in the Middle East.
"NATO does not have a vocation to be the world's policeman," said French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier.

04/21/2005 15:56 GMT