NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has welcomed the Russian attitude toward relations with Poland.

"It is clear to me that Russia is making every possible effort to be a friend to the Polish people in this difficult time," Rasmussen said during his monthly press briefing in Brussels on Monday.

"I also warmly welcome the partnership between Poland and Russia in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy," he said.

"It is a powerful signal of how far Europe has come, in a short time, in healing the wounds of the past," he continued. "It is also, I believe, a clear demonstration that we can build a better, more united future."

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, along with a delegation of senior officials died in a plane crash near the western Russian city of Smolensk on April 10. The delegation was on its way to pay tribute to some 20,000 Polish officers executed by Soviet secret police in 1940.

BRUSSELS, April 19 (RIA Novosti)