Article > NATO’s budding partnership with Russia has global implications

SECURITY & DEFENCE

NATO’s budding partnership with Russia has global implications

Autumn 2010

by Anders Fogh Rasmussen

From the moment he stepped into the job a year ago, NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has championed a constructive new relationship with Moscow. He explains why it’s crucial not only to Europe but to global security too

When I gave my first public speech as Secretary General of NATO just over a year ago, I focused on the NATO-Russia relationship, because I believe it is crucial not just for European but also for global security. At that time I thought the relationship to be in urgent need of repair, and that NATO and Russia should make “a new beginning”. I therefore made several specific proposals for how we could together lay the foundations for a far more productive future relationship. So a year on, how do we measure up?

We have, first of all, reinforced our practical co-operation in a range of areas.

Fighting terrorism. Because terrorism is a scourge that affects all of our nations, we can only defeat it if we work together. NATO countries and Russia have agreed a joint assessment of terrorist threats and we are updating our action plan on terrorism. We are already making considerable progress on a number of concrete projects, and are working together, for example, to counter the threat of attacks on mass transport infrastructure and on other public gathering places. Under a joint programme called STANDEX (Stand-Off Explosives Detection) we have brought together leading research institutes and laboratories in NATO countries and in Russia who are now integrating various different technologies into a single system for detecting explosives and identifying potential attackers.
Preventing proliferation. The proliferation of nuclear capabilities and ballistic missiles is a major concern for the international community as a whole, and a grave and growing threat to the territories and the populations of NATO countries and the Russian Federation. Experts from NATO and Russia have met a number of times to discuss how their countries can best address this threat together, and a dedicated Working Group on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation is now taking this forward.
Stabilising Afghanistan. A stable Afghanistan is just as much in Russia’s interest as that of the NATO allies, and I particularly welcome closer co-operation in this area. In the spring of this year, the first cargo containers reached the UN-mandated, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) via Russian territory, opening an important additional line of communication. The NATO-Russia project to provide counter-narcotics training to personnel from Afghanistan and Central Asian has produced over 1,300 graduates, many of whom have already used their newly acquired skills to intercept some of the largest heroin shipments in the region. And following suggestions that I made when I visited Moscow last December, the Russian leadership is actively considering additional contributions to provide the Afghan National Army with helicopters and training.

We have not only increased our practical co-operation, but also rejuvenated the NATO-Russia Council, which is our principal forum for political discussion. Over the past year we have been able to deepen as well as widen our dialogue. We have held open, frank, and constructive discussions on a broad range of Russian and allied security concerns, as well as on constructive proposals to address these concerns. While these discussions have not led NATO allies and Russia to see eye-to-eye on all issues, they have certainly helped to build a greater degree of trust and mutual confidence between us. That, I am sure, will benefit our future co-operation.

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We have also carried out a joint review of the new 21st century common security challenges, which has helped to prepare the ground for closer, practical co-operation between us. The joint review has progressed extremely well, and we have agreed on five common threats and challenges where we should be enhancing our co-operation. These are: terrorism; Afghanistan; piracy; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery; and natural and man-made disasters. I am particularly encouraged that, together with Russia, we are already fleshing out the details on appropriate practical projects where we can co-operate.

The NATO-Russia relationship has also seen progress in other areas. NATO has been fully transparent with Russia on the development of the Alliance’s new Strategic Concept, and I am hopeful that this will encourage similar transparency from our Russian partners as they develop their own strategic documents. NATO has also taken the initiative to overcome the deadlock on the Treaty for Conventional Forces in Europe, and I hope the ongoing debates in the OSCE will lead to progress in strengthening conventional arms control and transparency in Europe.

Taken together, these achievements all show that NATO-Russia relations have got off to a qualitatively new beginning. But while this makes me optimistic about the future of our relationship, it doesn’t blind me to the difficulties that remain. The NATO allies still have concerns about Georgia, and there are fundamental differences of principle at stake here. Russia, too, continues to have concerns, for example over NATO’s Open Door policy. I firmly believe that these worries are misplaced, and that the broadening of NATO’s membership has enhanced security and stability for all of us, including Russia. In any case, by using the NATO-Russia Council constructively, we can address all these concerns and work jointly towards resolving them.

Despite these remaining differences we have already shown that progress in the NATO-Russia relationship is possible. And this should give us the confidence to set out an ambitious agenda for the future. One of our priorities should be to further enhance our operational co-operation. Back in the 1990s, we worked together with great success to stabilise the Balkans. I would like to see us do more joint peace-keeping operations, and not only on land. I see potential for doing much more together at sea to enhance maritime security. I look forward, in particular, to further co-operation in our joint efforts to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. And I also believe that our operational co-operation in Afghanistan could be stepped up. Russian donations to the Afghan National Army could make a huge difference to the Afghans’ ability to look after their own security, which would be in the interest of all our nations.

But it is in the area of missile defence that I see the greatest potential for enhancing our co-operation. Earlier this year, in light of the growing threat of proliferation of nuclear capabilities and ballistic missiles, I laid out my vision of a common “security roof” that would stretch from Vancouver to Vladivostok and that would see our Euro-Atlantic community sharing real security against real threats, using real technology. Once NATO has decided to develop the capability to have missile defence not only for military forces but also for civilian populations and territories, NATO-Russia co-operation on missile defence could help us build this common security roof. I hope that in the coming months and years we will all have the political will needed to make this a reality.

A healthy, confident and trusting NATO-Russia relationship is vital to the security of us all. Now that a solid foundation for NATO-Russia co-operation is in place, with the new and improved NATO-Russia relationship already bearing fruit, we can together look to the future with renewed confidence and ambition. As NATO’s Secretary General, I will be doing everything in my power to ensure that this successful co-operation continues, and that we fulfil the tremendous potential that the NATO-Russia relationship holds. I count on the support of all members of the NATO-Russia Council for achieving this goal

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