NATO defense ministers hold two-day meeting in Poland

The meeting, which is attended by two NATO hopefuls - Albania and Croatia - will also review the reform of the alliance's command structure and ways to secure new supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is likely to press other NATO members to send more troops to fight the Taliban movement and opium production in war-ravaged Afghanistan, following Washington's pledge to send an additional 17,000 soldiers to the Central Asian state in the near future. There are 62,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, more than half of them from the United States, and President Barack Obama has pledged to deploy another 30,000 U.S. military personnel. Due to worsening security on the main land route from Pakistan and the expected closure of a U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan, NATO has to rely on alternative routes to supply the U.S.-dominated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan Russia and NATO signed a framework agreement on the transit of non-military cargos in April 2008; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. Despite the recent deterioration in relations with NATO, Russia has continued to support the military alliance's operations in Afghanistan. Moscow recently said it had the potential to broaden cooperation with Washington on supplies of non-lethal cargo to the U.S. troops in Afghanistan via the so-called "northern corridor," which would likely would likely cross Russia into Kazakhstan and then Uzbekistan before entering northern Afghanistan. Several NATO nations, including France, Germany and Canada, already transport so-called non-lethal supplies to their contingents in Afghanistan via Russia under bilateral agreements. The ministers will also discuss the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia, as well as preparations for a NATO summit on April 3-4 in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany to mark the 60th anniversary of the military alliance.