U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice refrained on Thursday from commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration that his country is suspending its obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty.

"Every one is expected to live up to treaty obligations. But I am certain that we will hear more from Minister Lavrov about what precisely President Putin has in mind," Rice told reporters before a NATO foreign ministers' meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In his state of the nation address, Putin said his country is suspending obligations of the CFE treaty as NATO signatories to the treaty are not ratifying it. He indicated that Russia might ultimately withdraw from the treaty if its defense concerns are not properly addressed by NATO.

Moscow is vehemently opposed to U.S. plans to place an anti- ballistic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Putin said the U.S. deployment is a threat to Russia's national security.

Russia is not buying Washington's explanation that the shield is designed to protect Europe from long-range missile attacks from "rogue states."

On the issue of missile defense, Rice said her country will continue to have consultations with Moscow.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has just visited Russia. Rice said she will go to Moscow in a few weeks time.

"I continue to hope that Russia will recognize that we are in a different threat environment. We are certainly not in the situation in which the United States and the Soviet Union were adversaries," she said.

"We are not adversaries to Russia. But we face common threats."

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also would not comment on Putin's remarks.

"I do not exactly have a grasp of what President Putin exactly means," he told a separate press conference before the NATO-Russia meeting.

He said NATO signatories to the CFE treaty have not ratified it because Russia has not fulfilled the so-called "Istanbul obligations" in reference to Russia's withdrawal of military bases from Georgia and Moldova.

He said the NATO allies have a clear position: they are in favor of ratification of the CFE treaty, but before that the Istanbul obligations must be fulfilled.

The CFE treaty aims to maintain military balance in Europe by setting limits on key categories of conventional military equipment for NATO countries and those of the rival Warsaw Pact.

It was signed in 1990 and an adapted treaty was agreed upon in 1999.

Source: Xinhua