HELSINKI, Oct 21: US and Russian military chiefs came face-to-face on Tuesday for private talks, trying to mend a relationship “clearly” marred by Russia's invasion of Georgia.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said after his meeting in Helsinki with General Nikolai Makarov that the relationship would not return to where it was before the invasion but it should not be “all on or all off.” “Clearly the relationship has changed because of what happened in Georgia.

“I mean, it will not return to exactly where it was before Georgia,” Mullen told reporters travelling with him.

However, “I pointed out during the meeting that even in the darkest days of the Cold War we were talking to each other,” he added.

Mullen flew immediately after the meeting to Riga to reassure worried Baltic states of continued US support.

Makarov, the head of the Russian general staff, requested the meeting which was arranged in secrecy and on short notice by Finland, which hosted a lunch for the two and then withdrew to let them speak in private, US military officials said.

Mullen described the meeting as positive but made clear that normalising military relations disrupted by the August 8 invasion still involves “significant challenges.” “It wasn't a meeting about disagreements, as it was a dialogue and a commitment to continue the dialogue — in particular between him and me,” Mullen said, referring to Makarov.

Mullen said he believed the talks would be followed by concrete steps, but declined to go into detail about what they would be, saying they had to be worked out.

The Pentagon cancelled or suspended military exercises with the Russians in protest over Moscow's actions in Georgia.

“I don't believe we should be shutting everything off. Nor do I believe we should resume on our own plan,” Mullen said. “We'll need to work out the details of what that should be.

“But that will be the pickup point for continuing the military-to-military relationship in the future,” he said.

“It's also very important for all of us to walk the walk and not just talk the talk,” he said.

In Riga, Mullen met the Latvian defence minister and chief of defence.

“I think it is very important for all of us to reassure countries — specifically the Baltics, given their history, their proximity, their previous relationships,” Mullen said.

US plans to install missile defences in eastern Europe, Nato's expansion into former Soviet republics and US support for the independence of Kosovo from Serbia earlier this year have angered a newly-assertive Russia.

But Mullen believes the two countries also have important common interests, including the consequences for stability if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, the official said.—AFP