Strasbourg, France - Success in Afghanistan and improved relations with Russia are vital to the future of NATO, the alliance's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said Thursday in the French city of Strasbourg.

"We need to succeed in Afghanistan," since "success in Afghanistan will have an impact on how NATO is perceived in the rest of the world," de Hoop Scheffer told a group of students from around the world on the eve of a two-day NATO summit in France and Germany.

Succeeding in Afghanistan also means improving relations with the country's prickly neighbours, Pakistan and Iran, de Hoop Scheffer said.

NATO "should not be involved in the Iranian nuclear dispute," he said in response to a question.

"But Iran is an important neighbour of Afghanistan, and stability in Afghanistan depends to a large extent on stability in the region," he said as he called for greater dialogue with Tehran.

In a speech titled NATO in 2020 - What Lies Ahead, the alliance head also underlined the importance of improving relations with Russia.

"We need to set our relationship with Russia back on track," said de Hoop Scheffer, who will be stepping down from his post at the end of July.

"If we disagree, and we do disagree ... we both stand to lose. Russia needs NATO, and NATO needs Russia," he said.

NATO suspended direct talks with Russia in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia in August, but in December decided to resume meetings of the so-called NATO-Russia Council. The first such meeting at level of foreign ministers was expected to take place before the summer.

Responding to a student from Georgia, the NATO chief said Russia's "occupation" of the Georgian breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia represented "a fundamental difference of opinion" between the alliance and the Kremlin.

De Hoop Scheffer also criticized Moscow's plans to build up its military bases in the two provinces, calling the occupation a "contravention of the principle of territorial integrity."

NATO's 28 heads of state and government were to meet in Strasbourg and in the German towns of Kehl and Baden Baden on Friday and Saturday for a summit marking the transatlantic alliance's 60th anniversary.

The Afghan mission, relations with Russia, and the search for a new NATO chief were all expected to feature prominently during the talks.

Leaders were also expected to formally welcome at their table their colleagues from Albania and Croatia, which formally joined the alliance on Wednesday. (dpa)