Babacan: "NATO's open-door policy should continue"

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday attended a roundtable meeting of NATO foreign ministers, along with his British and US counterparts David Milliband and Hillary Rodham Clinton, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, the latest meeting ahead of a NATO summit of heads of state and government early next month in France. Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Babacan said that they would discuss issues such as the Middle East, Afghanistan and Russia. Touching on NATO expansion, Babacan added, "We think that NATO's open-door policy is very important. So long as this policy continues, NATO will have greater influence over countries on its borders." On the sideline of the meeting, Babacan met with his Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni, their first meeting since Israeli President Shimon Peres' sharp exchange with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the World Economic Forum in January.