Ankara  - Future NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday attempted to soothe Muslim antipathy to the role he played in 2005 as Danish prime minister when he failed to condemn cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammad published in a Danish newspaper.

Speaking at the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul, a meeting that promotes dialogue between leaders of the West and the Islamic world, Rasmussen did not directly apologise for his actions in 2005. But he did say that he respected all religions.

Ankara - Future NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday attempted to soothe Muslim antipathy to the role he played in 2005 as Danish prime minister when he failed to condemn cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammad published in a Danish newspaper.

Copenhagen  - Newly-designated NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen formally handed in his resignation Sunday as prime minister to Danish Queen Margrethe II.

Rasmussen, 56, is to be succeeded by his namesake, 44-year-old Finance Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, as head of the government.

The formal resignation comes a day after the NATO summit in Strasbourg chose Rasmussen as alliance's next secretary general to succeed outgoing NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Rasmussen would take over his NATO post on August 1.

Strasbourg, France  - Hours of wrangling, and the crucial mediation of US President Barack Obama, allowed NATO to pick a new secretary general and prevent the alliance from suffering an embarassing blow to its image on its 60th birthday.

In the end, the summit's 28 heads of state and government agreed that Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was the right man to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer when he steps down at the end of July.

Strasbourg, France  - United States President Barack Obama on Saturday brokered a deal with Turkey, which assured the appointment of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as NATO's next secretary general.

"Rasmussen is an outstanding public servant, somebody with an extraordinary reputation," Obama said at the end of a two-day summit of alliance leaders in France and Germany.