Pentagon chief embarks on trip to Europe

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is embarking on a trip to Europe Monday, which will be focused on NATO's relationship with Russia.

According to the schedule, Gates will first attend the Southeastern Europe Defense Ministerial meeting in Macedonia before having a meeting with NATO allies in Hungary, Pentagon sources said.

Officials and analysts said Gates' trip is meant to send a message to Russia that the United States and the NATO won't like to see further actions against their friends in eastern Europe from Russia after its conflict with Georgia in August.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, who will travel with Gates, claimed Russia "is feeling anything these days it is isolation as a consequence of its disproportionate use of force in Georgia."

In fact, the NATO-Russia Council, which was held at most of the NATO meetings during the past two years, will be effectively suspended this time.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials made it clear that Gates won't provoke Russia in his trip.

It would be "a real mistake", Morrell noted, for people to see the visit as "a move to inflame relations with Russia."