BRUSSELS: NATO will pursue its drive for a strategic partnership with Russia, the new head of the alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said yesterday in his first day on the job. But as the first anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war nears, he said Moscow must respect the sovereignty and integrity of its neighbors.

Rasmussen 56, who took over on Saturday as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), faces many challenges but none more daunting than finding a winning strategy for the war in Afghanistan and improving relations with its former Cold War foe Russia.

The former Danish premier also has to delicately manage expectations in Ukraine and Georgia, former Soviet republics that have been promised eventual NATO membership despite Moscow's resistance.