Despite warm words, local analysts remained skeptical on real intentions of both sides toward each other.

Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of Moscow's Political and Military Analysis Institute, told Xinhua that one should tell differences between diplomatic gestures and 'realpolitik.'

"NATO and Russia behave like two partners in a ballroom politely trying to avoid stepping on each other's feet," he said.

Medvedev, Fogh Rasmussen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov all addressed issues of mutual concern at their talks, such as anti-missile defense, European security and Afghanistan, said the expert.

"But partners with their long history of distrust cannot transfer themselves into a loving couple swiftly," explained Khramchikhin figuratively.

Although neither Russia nor NATO wanted confrontation, none of them has discovered a mode so far in which they would coexist, he said.

"NATO wants to render Moscow as its ally in Afghanistan, in coping with the so-called nontraditional threats like disaster relief operations. But Moscow seems not quite comprehend how the Atlantic bloc might execute functions of the global 'emergency ministry,' what the purpose of the anti-missile defense is if it is not targeted against Russia," said Khramchikhin.

"So far, Afghanistan has been the only spot where they cooperate on the ground, not in the realm of wishful thinking," the expert noted, citing Lavrov's words "this (Afghanistan) is our common vital interest."
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