Geopolitics Weekly

But UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC that it was not "business as usual" with Moscow. Mr Miliband said the resumption of ties would provide an opportunity to engage with Moscow "in a hardheaded way". He said "the invasion of Georgia and continuing infringement of its sovereignty" could not be "swept under the carpet".

Mrs Clinton added that Nato "should continue to open Nato's door to European countries such as Georgia and Ukraine and help them meet Nato standards".

Earlier, Russia's envoy to Nato defended the war against Georgia and said any new relationship with Nato would be on Moscow's own terms.

Some, like Germany and France, had long been pressing for the resumption of ties with Russia, arguing that their suspension has been counter-productive.

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's permanent envoy to Nato, predicted an outcome of the Brussels talks "that should, on the whole, satisfy Russia" but made clear he saw Moscow negotiating from a position of strength. "We came out of the crisis that we had after the August 2008 events [the war with Georgia], the crisis in the South Caucasus, stronger," he told Russian channel Vesti TV. "Our Western colleagues saw in Russia a partner that one cannot wipe one's feet on. We are strong... and we are restoring cooperation, including on our terms."

In protest, it has now severed its remaining military hot lines with the South and ordered its 1.2 million strong army to remain combat ready.

The 12-day military exercise involves about 50,000 US and South Korean troops, in what the two allies say is a rehearsal for the defence of the peninsula.

n January, Pyongyang scrapped a series of peace agreements with the South over Seoul's decision to link bilateral aid to progress on denuclearisation.

Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is expected to tell Obama on a White House visit this week that the region views the US embargo as anachronistic and vindictive. Easing it would help mend Washington's strained relations with the "pink tide" of leftist governments.

"It would signal new pragmatism, but you would still have the embargo, which is the centrepiece of US policy," said Erikson.

Wayne Smith, a former head of the US Interest Section in Havana, famously said Cuba had the same effect on American administrations as the full moon had on werewolves.

Recognising Castro continuity, and aghast at European and Asian competitors getting a free hand, US corporate interests are impatient to do business with Cuba. Oil companies want to drill offshore, farmers to export more rice, vegetables and meat, construction firms to build infrastructure projects.

Young Cuban exiles in Florida, less radical than their parents, have advocated ending the policy of isolation. As a senator, Obama opposed the embargo, but as a presidential candidate he supported it - and simultaneously promised engagement with Havana.

Compared to intractable challenges in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, the opportunity for quick progress on Cuba has been called the "low-hanging fruit" of US foreign policy.

He is the leader of the Islamist Popular Congress Party and has been frequently arrested in the past.

the soldiers were seen lining up to collect their ballot papers. Without even glancing at the name of the single candidate listed in each constituency, they can be seen bowing to a portrait of Kim Jong-il before dutifully casting their votes.

North Korea watchers have been scrutinising this election for the possible emergence of one name - Kim Jong-un. He is the 26-year-old, Swiss-educated, third son of Kim Jong-Il and thought to be his father's most likely successor.

US President Barack Obama authorised the deployment of up to 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan last month amid a major review of US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US already has about 14,000 troops serving with the Nato-led mission. There are also 19,000 US troops under sole US command charged with fighting Taleban and al-Qaeda insurgents.