Now that Russian President Dimity Medvedev has committed to attending next month's NATO summit in Lisbon, allied leaders need to finalize the negotiating package they will present to the Russian government at the event.
NATO and Russia agree on many important security issues, such as the need to counter maritime piracy, while they differ on others, including Medvedev's proposed European Security Treaty and further NATO expansion. Some of their most significant disagreements lie in the realm of nonproliferation and arms control, with the three most divisive issues in this area concerning Iran's emerging nuclear weapons capability, the alliance's missile defense plans, and NATO and Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons.
Looked at individually, each of these separate questions are difficult to solve. But if addressed in combination, then a package deal between NATO and Russia becomes more possible.