I'm surprised Russia has been so gentle with NATO. Essentially, NATO members need Russia a lot more than Russia needs anything from NATO e.g.: - Energy: Western Europe is fairly dependent on Russian gas - one good reason to avoid disputes; - Afghanistan - The US, UK and some other NATO members need transit through Russia to resupply their forces in Afghansitan; NATO itself seems to be a typical international NGO - they want more members to grow and get more budget/importance. I don't believe this is necessarily compatible with their primary mission of maintaining peace in and around their member states. NATO has not been and will not be involved in Iraq, Afghanstan, North Korea, etc. - all these fall outside their remit, with individual members pursuing their own military agendas. Whilst Sarkozy's government is less anti-American than usually seen in France, the French see NATO transitioning to an EU body which would not include the USA. Many EU governments have been opposed to the war in Iraq and dislike US attempts to involve NATO (e.g. offering Ukraine NATO membership for involvement in Iraq). Many in the EU therfore feel that US foreign policy is incompatible with that of the EU and that they don't to be so closely linked with the US. If I were in the Russian delegation to NATO, I would seek to befriend those feeling alienated by US foreign policy and let the gap to grow.