Condoleezza Rice, attending her final NATO meeting as U.S. secretary of state, agreed to reopening discussions even though Russia still has troops in two disputed regions of Georgia, The New York Times reported. Germany agreed in exchange that NATO should speed up preparing Georgia and Ukraine for membership.

"Allies agreed on what I would qualify as a conditional and graduated re-engagement with Russia," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said after the meeting.

NATO has not condoned Russia's "use of disproportionate force" in Georgia, Scheffer said. Russia has also recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway regions of Georgia.

The ministers made no statement on when Georgia and Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO.

Rice made no objection to low-level talks with Russia.

"We should be very attentive to what the Russians are doing, and are they living up to their obligations," she said. "There are certain types of activities, like military-to-military contacts, that seem to me to be problematic."