Disarmament Documentation

Russian MFA Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin Interview on NATO-Russia Council meeting, December 6, 2007

Russian MFA Spokesman Mikhail Kamynin Interview with RIA Novosti on the Upcoming Russia-NATO Council Meeting.

Question: Sergey Lavrov tomorrow, in Brussels, will take part in the Russia-NATO Council (RNC) meeting at the level of ministers of foreign affairs. What could you say in this connection?

Answer: This year was packed with events in Russia-NATO relations. We marked the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between the Russian Federation and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the fifth anniversary of the Rome Declaration, 'Russia-NATO Relations: A New Quality.' In connection with the jubilee dates an international political science conference was held in St. Petersburg and a RNC meeting at ambassadorial level in Moscow in June.

In the course of the upcoming meeting at the level of ministers of foreign affairs it is planned to examine the state of affairs in, and prospects for political dialogue and practical cooperation in the RNC format and dwell on issues in our interaction.

Question: What characterizes Russia-NATO relations?

Answer: There were both successes and complications on the journey to the current state of relations between Russia and NATO. Not easy work is ahead for us as well. This is only natural because the issues we discuss with our partners concern the key aspects of European and international security and strategic stability.

Among issues in our interaction are the international legal implications of the alliance's transformation, the NATO military infrastructure drawing closer to our borders, the further NATO enlargement plans, the resolution of the situation surrounding the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty), the deployment of a third US global missile defense system position area in Europe and its conjugation with MD research and development within the framework of NATO.

Question: What is the position of Russia on the issues you've mentioned?

Answer: We had warned the partners that the situation surrounding the CFE Treaty was unacceptable to Russia. The treaty in its present form has become hopelessly outdated and does not meet the new military-political realities while NATO is in no hurry to ratify its adapted version. We did everything in our power for the early entry into force of the renewed CFE Treaty, fulfilled all our Istanbul commitments relating to it and without artificial delays ratified the Agreement on its adaptation.

We suggested concrete measures to remedy the state of affairs. But they did not want to listen to us. Under these conditions we were forced to suspend our application of the CFE Treaty with effect on December 12.

This is a forced measure, aimed at stimulating our partners to look for solutions to get out of the impasse. We are ready to conduct dialogue also during the period of CFE Treaty suspension.

Russia's attitude to the US intention to deploy a third missile defense position area in Europe is well known. A substantive discussion about this is also under way within the Russia-NATO Council.

For the US, today and in the foreseeable future, according to our assessments, there exist no threats which deploying MD elements in the Czech Republic and Poland is supposedly meant to counter. We are convinced that the move, on the contrary, may seriously destabilize the strategic balance of forces in the European continent and undermine the trust that has evolved with such difficulty since the end of the Cold War.

The plans of further NATO enlargement cannot but tell on our relations likewise. At an upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest in April 2008 this will be one of the central questions.

For us this is an extremely sensitive point, especially with reference to the states in the post-Soviet space. We are convinced that the process of NATO enlargement has no relationship to the modernization of the alliance itself or to the ensuring of security in Europe whatsoever. On the contrary, it is a serious provoking factor, fraught with the appearance of new dividing lines and a lowering of the level of mutual trust. Today algorithms of interaction with NATO have been created that enable states to cooperate on the broadest spectrum of security issues without entry into alliance.

Question: On what issues and how successfully do we cooperate in the Russia-NATO Council format? Where do our interests coincide?

Answer: We are seeking answers to our concerns in the Council framework. We have managed to advance in our political dialogue and practical cooperation in the areas where our security interests coincide with those of the NATO nations. Quite a few projects are being carried out that meet the interests of Russia and NATO alike.

There are currently about 20 committees, working and expert groups operating under the aegis of the RNC that, in particular, concern themselves with such matters as compatibility of military contingents and of missile defense and air traffic systems, strengthening the response capabilities for terrorist acts, natural disasters and other emergencies, and military technical and defense research and technology cooperation.

Under the comprehensive RNC Plan of Action to combat terrorism, the possibilities are being studied for the exchange of information and advanced experience, for the conduct of antiterrorist units training and practice, for bolstering the security of air and sea transport, subways and other critical infrastructure facilities and for counteraction against cyberterrorism.

Of great importance is Russia's joining NATO's counterterrorist Operation Active Endeavor. In September 2007 the Frigate Ladny of the Russian Navy participated in joint patrolling with NATO ships.

Work continues on ensuring the compatibility of the armed forces of Russia and the NATO countries in carrying out peacekeeping operations. And although we after the Balkans have no common missions in the field, improvements in such training are a must. This is an important reserve for the future, as the partners intend to develop cooperation in the RNC with respect to joint peacekeeping.

The Partnership for Peace Status of Forces Agreement, defining the legal status of NATO and Partner military forces when present on each other's territory, which for Russian came into force from September this year, will facilitate conducting joint training exercises, and peacekeeping and antiterrorist operations.

The RNC's pilot project for the joint training of personnel for the anti-narcotic agencies of Afghanistan and the Central Asian transit countries is being successfully implemented. Russia's contribution to this project is making the facilities of our interior ministry's All-Russia Advanced Training Institute available for this purpose; 138 specialists will have trained at this center in Domodedovo by the end of this year.

This is an important, but only the first step in forging real interaction in this area. In our conviction, it is necessary to do some work on other comprehensive measures with a view to creating anti-narcotic security belts around Afghanistan, especially taking into account the link between narco-traffic and terrorism, as well.

We have made serious progress in implementing the project for ensuring the compatibility of air traffic control systems too. The creation of an overall air traffic picture will make it possible not only to respond more effectively to terrorist threats involving aircraft, but also to prevent dangerous incidents in the air along the line of contact between the forces of the NATO countries and Russia.

One of the most promising areas of our cooperation we believe is the creation of a compatible potential in emergencies: terrorist acts, and natural and man-made disasters.

We are also making headway in the informational follow-up of our cooperation - the Russia-NATO Council's own web site has begun operating this year.

Question: What prospects are there for further cooperation between Russia and NATO?

Answer: We intend to develop further our interaction with NATO, taking into account the transformation of the alliance in progress and the internal discussion among its members about its final look and shape. We do not put forward any ambitious initiatives: Russia needs the cooperation no more and no less than do the countries of the alliance.

It is impossible to combat today's security threats single-handedly; coordinated actions by all the strategic players are necessary. The nature of the new security risks and threats requires this.

The Russia-NATO Council has since its creation proved its relevance. It is our task to work on raising the effectiveness of this mechanism. We are ready to continue cooperating with the alliance in those areas where our interests objectively coincide.

December 6, 2007

Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.russianembassy.org.

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