Speaking at an international conference on the role of the military in combating terrorism on 5 April in Norfolk, Virginia, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called on NATO countries to move from \"theoretical evaluations to practical steps in the joint fight against international terrorism,\" RTR reported. Ivanov mentioned recent terrorist acts in Spain, Russia, and the Middle East and warned that the tide of global terrorism is rising. \"Soon we defense ministers and senior security officials will be discussing international terrorism while sitting in highly protected concrete bunkers,\" Ivanov told the conference. He also criticized NATO\'s role in Kosova, saying, \"today the NATO stabilization operation there has -- I\'m not afraid to say -- failed.\" While in the United States, Ivanov will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. (RFE/RL)