DATE=10/09/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=U-S / NATO (S)

BYLINE=MEREDITH BUEL

DATELINE=PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: NATO defense ministers meeting in the U-S state of Colorado are expected to question their Russian counterpart about Moscow's recent warning that it may change its nuclear strategy. Correspondent Meredith Buel has more from the Pentagon.

TEXT: On the final day of their two-day meeting, NATO officials are expected to discuss with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov a recent statement released by his country's defense ministry.

The statement said Russia may undergo a radical reconstruction of military planning, including changes in nuclear strategy, if NATO retains what Moscow sees as its "offensive military doctrine."

NATO Secretary General George Robertson says he expects the Russian defense minister to expand on what he called "the fairly sketchy" details of the statement.

NATO members are seeking to improve relations with Moscow as part of the effort to reposition the alliance to tackle terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Those threats were highlighted during the first day of the NATO conference, when ministers attended an exercise on crisis management and a test of the alliance's future rapid deployment force.

Such a force is expected to be fully operational by 2006. (SIGNED)

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