NATO-Russia Rally ends with call for dialogue

NATO’s biggest ever public diplomacy event in Russia ended in Kaliningrad on 26 May with a call for more dialogue in order to build trust and understanding.

The birthplace of philosopher Immanuel Kant was the host of the last of nine high-profile events across Russia, which began in Vladivostok, the end stop of the Trans-Siberian railway, on 11 May.

"Russia may not be an Ally in the NATO sense, but it is an Ally in the sense of improving the lives of all our people, we are all in this together," emphasized the Lithuanian Ambassador to NATO, Linas Linkevičius, during a discussion with Kaliningrad students.

Discussions & demonstrations

The aim of the Rally was to give the Russian public an opportunity to hear more about NATO-Russia cooperation since the launch of the NATO-Russia Council four years ago.

From 11 to 26 May, NATO and Russian officials, experts, as well as Ambassadors of NATO countries engaged hundreds of students, academics and the public at large in open debates about the state and prospects for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Alliance.

The events ranged from panel discussions, youth forums and videoconferences to photo exhibitions, cultural events and a hockey match between the ‘USSR legends’ and NATO-Russia team.

Anti-NATO demonstrations at several of the events showed that Cold War stereotypes still remained.

But the discussions – on NATO-Russia cooperation in defence reform, joint efforts against terrorism, military to military and scientific cooperation – demonstrated clearly just how far relations had evolved.

“The story of the NATO-Russia Rally is simple: the bridge is now built. We have that strategic partnership. And we are now taking steps to reinforce it, so it can bear more of the weight of international security,” said the NATO Secretary General in a videoconference with Moscow students.

Need for dialogue and trust

At the end of the long journey from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad - through Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Volgograd, Moscow, Murmansk and Pskov - it was the call for dialogue that was the most vocal.

Referring to the theme of the Rally – What binds us together – one of the speakers in Kaliningrad concluded, “what binds us together is the mutual desire to make the world more stable… let’s start with dialogue”.