From Reuters: NATO should develop closer ties with China, India, Pakistan and Russia and become the forum for consultation on global security, the alliance’s head said on Sunday, but a senior Russian politician reacted with scepticism.

The four countries all had interests in stability in Afghanistan and could do more to help develop and assist the country, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

“What would be the harm if countries such as China, India, Pakistan and others were to develop closer ties with NATO? I think, in fact, there would only be a benefit, in terms of trust, confidence and cooperation,” he said…

“NATO can be the place where views, concerns and best practices on security are shared by NATO’s global partners. And where … we might work out how to tackle global challenges together,” he told a conference in Munich ahead of discussion of a new NATO Strategic Concept due to be approved in November…

“As soon as NATO starts to reach beyond its borders this is no longer just an internal matter for NATO,” said [chairman of the Russian Duma’s International Affairs Committee, Konstantin] Kosachev, who was also speaking the annual Munich Security Conference. (photo: Matthias Schrader/AP)