US soldiers patrol the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan

The meeting focused above all on the speed, financing and quality of Nato's many missions around the world.

The alliance's role in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans was discussed.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe, in Poiana Brasov, says Afghanistan provided the main subject of dispute between individual Nato countries.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov was present for the last part of the gathering, which included a meeting of the Nato-Russian Council.

Agreement

The German and French defence ministers categorically ruled out a US proposal to merge US-led and Nato forces in Afghanistan, allowing Nato to take overall responsibility for peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

But the ministers asked the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe to prepare several options for improved co-operation between the two missions.

The fact that only a fraction of the 300 Nato instructors due to go to Iraq to train senior officers in the Iraqi army were already there was also discussed.

Agreement was reached that others should arrive by the end of the year.

Both the Nato Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and Mr Ivanov agreed that Russian-Nato relations were good, with frequent joint military and civil exercises.

Mr Ivanov briefed the Nato ministers on Russian military operations in the northern Caucuses, and said that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had frankly explained to him US plans for new bases in Eastern Europe, but he gave no details.

New force

An announcement that the alliance's rapid reaction force was now up and running was made by Mr Scheffer in his opening address to the meeting.

The aim of the Nato Response Force, which will include warships and fighter planes, is to give the alliance the ability to react to crises around the world within five days.

It has an initial troop strength of some 17,500, and is due to reach full capacity with 24,000 troops by 2006.

"This is an important milestone in our quest for more usable and deployable forces, but more needs to be done to complete our quest," Mr Scheffer said.

The next Nato summit is due to take place in the French city of Nice in February.