INTERVIEW-NATO reviewing security post Georgia war-general

BUDAPEST, Oct 10 (Reuters) Russia's invasion of Georgia has forced NATO to reexamine its assumptions about the safety of member states and could require new contingency planning, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. John Craddock said.

"There's a new geopolitical reality here," Craddock told Reuters in an interview.

"There were several assumptions made for years and those assumptions need to be validated given Aug. 7," Craddock said, citing the date war broke out between Georgia and Russia. "That's what we're doing."

Craddock, on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers meeting in Budapest, said he had not begun formal contingency planning.

Instead he is first "scoping" to determine whether new plans are needed to protect NATO members and countries with bilateral relations, known as Partnership for Peace (PFP) countries.

Georgia is a PFP country.

"For years there's been an assumption that no nation, either member nation or PFP, had to worry nor should fear an invasion of their sovereign territory. I think there's change now as a result of August," he said.

"We have to take a look at that. We have to go through it. We have to make military judgments and then come to a conclusion, which will lead us either to con (contingency) planning or not. Or maybe there are other plans in place that would allow us to get to the same end," he added. Assessing the threat posed by Russia could shift NATO's attention back to its original adversary, and some allies, particularly in Western Europe, worry about the signal that would send to Moscow.

Others, particularly ex-Soviet states, are asking for a defence plan out of fear that Russian action in Georgia is just the first step in a Kremlin plan to regain influence and control lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The foundation of the NATO alliance is a collective defence promise known as Article 5, stating an attack on one is an attack on all. The alliance does not have formal defence plans for some of its newer members, and they are seeking assurances of protection.

"There are nations who are concerned. Fair enough," Craddock said. "We should be responsive and understand that there are indeed legitimate issues here."

Renewed defence planning is likely to rile Moscow, which already says NATO's expansion toward Russian borders threatens security and regional stability. Russia has opposed NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, something the United States supports and the alliance has promised.

The August war between Russia and Georgia, which erupted after Tbilisi tried to retake by force a separatist pro-Moscow province, has led some allies to say NATO should delay putting Georgia and Ukraine on formal membership track.

Worsening NATO-Russia relations will be discussed on Friday, the second and last day of the Budapest meetings. NATO froze ties with Russia after the war and Russia sent no representative to these defence meetings. (Editing by Philippa Fletcher)