(VOVworld) – NATO’s new secretary general says only a strong Western security alliance can have better ties with Russia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at an event hosted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, in Brussels on Tuesday. (Photo: AP)

Jens Stoltenberg said his experience as Norway’s Prime Minister is that robust defense capabilities and a solid trans-Atlantic bond were fundamental requirements in order to bring about constructive relations with Russia. In his first policy speech on Tuesday since taking office October 1, Stoltenberg said there was no contradiction between a strong NATO and continuing ties with the government of President Vladimir Putin.