The Bush administration yesterday gave its firmest commitment yet to keeping US peacekeeping forces in the Balkans for as long as NATO needs them.
"We went in together, we will come out together," Secretary of State Colin Powell told a news conference at NATO headquarters with NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.
In previous statements on the subject the United States has said it would not withdraw its troops from NATO-led peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo precipitately or without consultation with its NATO allies.
Members of the Bush election campaign dismayed Europeans last year by saying Washington might withdraw the troops from the Balkans unilaterally, and leave the job to Europeans.
Mr Powell also sought to reassure Washington's European allies on US plans to build a missile defence system to protect the United States and its friends against ballistic missiles from countries they perceive as unpredictable, such as North Korea and Iran. Many Europeans worry that the missile system would revive the arms race.
"We are committed to close allied consultations to address these issues together prior to deciding on specific technologies or architecture," Mr Powell said. "We will also consult with other governments, including Russia and China.
Mr Powell, a former chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the US supported the European Union's plans to create its own rapid reaction force to deal with crises which NATO does not want to handle.
He said the European Security and Defence Initiative would fit easily into the NATO framework and would enhance the capabilities of the alliance.
Meanwhile, France's Foreign Minister, Mr Hubert Vedrine, urged the new US administration yesterday to discard outworn suspicions about the EU's military aspirations and see them instead as imperative to the alliance's long-term survival.
Mutual confidence, consultation and co-operation across the Atlantic could assure NATO of a vibrant future, Mr Vedrine asserted.
"Have confidence in the Europeans," he said, adding that it was time for a "genuine partnership between Europeans and Americans".
Mr Powell arrived in Brussels after a three-day trip to the Middle East and briefed fellow NATO foreign ministers on the tour at lunch.