NATO's chief hopeful of Russian missile pact

NATO remains hopeful of reaching an agreement with Russia on missile defence, despite opposition from Moscow to the alliance's plans for a missile shield, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday, Reuters reports.   

"I'm hopeful that we can," Rasmussen said when asked whether NATO could reach agreement with the Russians.

Speaking after talks in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Rasmussen said agreement would "obviously" not be reached before a NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21.

"We will continue our dialogue with Russia ... after the Chicago meeting," he told reporters.