Russia, US neither enemies nor allies: defense minister

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday that Russia and the United States are neither enemies nor allies for the moment and the development of bilateralties requires a constructive attitude.

Russia and the United States "are certainly not enemies but, probably, not allies yet," said Ivanov, commenting on his meetings with US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Russia's Saint Petersburg, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"We are somewhere in the middle. It is an evolutionary process,which cannot start instantaneously and end in a week. We need time and constructive attitude," Ivanov was cited as saying.

The Russian minister noted that the threats of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to Russia and the United States bring the two countries closer together.

Rumsfeld arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday and held several meetings with Ivanov at the weekend on a variety of international and bilateral security issues, including the situations in Iraq and South Ossetia, a renegade region of Russia's neighbor Georgia,and possible bilateral military cooperation.

Russia strongly opposed the US-led war in Iraq that toppled former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein last year, but the two countries have been trying to mend their soured ties.

Source: Agencies