1.   A new friendship pact between Russia and China will not deter the United States from pursuing a missile defense system, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday.

2.   A new friendship pact between Russia and China poses no particular threat to the United States, the Bush administration said Monday.

3.   Burma took the first step toward joining ASEAN by recently acceding to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a mandatory friendship pact among the members.

4.   Dissatisfaction with the fleet deal could jeopardize ratification of the friendship pact in the parliaments.

5.   Lukashenko met with Vietnamese President Le Duc Anh in the capital, Hanoi, on Thursday to discuss a friendship pact, bilateral economic ties and cooperation.

6.   Romania and Hungary, seeking to improve their sometimes strained relations, Tuesday signed a document preceding a formal friendship pact.

7.   The Bush administration said the new friendship pact posed no particular threat to the United States.

8.   The friendship pact has been in the works for half a decade.

9.   The post-Soviet friendship pact has been in the works for half a decade.

10.   The prime ministers of Russia and Ukraine paved the way for the friendship pact when they signed a packet of agreements on Wednesday.