PRESS INFO 4 July 1997

The Partnership Between NATO and Russia Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has considered the development of constructive and cooperative relations with Russia as a key element for security and stability in Europe in the interest of all states in the OSCE area. Building upon their cooperation in the framework of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) since 1991 and the signature of Partnership for Peace by Russia, the Alliance and Russia agreed on 22 June 1994 to pursue a "Broad, Enhanced Dialogue and Cooperation" in a number of fields to which further areas for cooperation were later added. "16 + 1" meetings at Ministerial, Ambassadors' and experts' level served to exchange information and to consult on issues of common concern. Cooperation areas included peacekeeping, ecological security, science, and humanitarian aspects. A NATO information officer in Moscow took up his work on a permanent basis in Summer 1995. The close and effective cooperation between Russia and NATO in the implementation of the military aspects of the 1995 Peace Agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina has added a new dimension to the evolving security partnership. The participation of Russian troops along with contingents of Allied and other Partner nations reflects a shared political responsibility. It also demonstrates that NATO and Russia can collaborate effectively in the construction of cooperative security in Europe, and it has contributed to overcoming misconceptions about each other. The participation of Russian units in Bosnia has been prepared and supported by a group of Russian officers based at SHAPE. Against this background, NATO's Foreign Ministers, at their meeting on 10 December 1996 in Brussels, mandated the Secretary General to explore with the Russian side the conclusion of an agreement to deepen and widen the scope of NATO-Russia relations and to provide a framework for its future development. As a result of four months of intensive negotiations between Secretary General Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Primakov, both sides agreed on the "Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russia Federation". The Founding Act was signed in Paris on 27 May 1997 by the Secretary General and the Heads of State and Government of the North Atlantic Alliance, and by the President of the Russian Federation. The NATO-Russia Founding Act is the expression of an enduring commitment, undertaken at the highest political level, to build together a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. It creates the framework for a new security partnership, as one step among others which are being taken to build a stable, peaceful and undivided Europe. It allows the Alliance and Russia to forge a closer relationship, in the interests, not only of NATO and Russia, but also of all other states in the Euro-Atlantic area.

The Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security Between NATO and the Russia Federation The Founding Act has four sections. It begins with a preamble which establishes the context for a stable and enduring partnership. It states the reasons why NATO and Russia believe that it is in their shared interest to cooperate more broadly and intensively. It highlights the profound transformation that the Alliance has undergone since the end of the Cold War, through reductions of conventional and nuclear forces, through a revision of its strategic concept, through its new missions such as peacekeeping, and through its support for security cooperation throughout Europe, in particular within the framework of Partnership for Peace. It also refers to the transformation Russia is undergoing, its force reductions - which will continue - the withdrawal of Russian forces from Central and Eastern Europe, the revision of Russia's military doctrine, and its participation in the multinational operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Section I of the Act details the principles on which the NATO - Russia partnership is based. These include commitments to norms of international behaviour as reflected in the UN Charter and the OSCE documents, as well as more explicit commitments such as respecting states' sovereignty, independence and inherent right to choose the means to ensure their security, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Both sides commit themselves to strengthening the OSCE with the aim of creating a common area of security and stability in Europe. Section II creates a new forum: the NATO - Russia Permanent Joint Council (PJC). This is the venue for consultations, cooperation and - wherever possible - consensus building between the Alliance and Russia. The PJC will: hold regular consultations on a broad range of political or security related matters; based on these consultations, develop joint initiatives on which NATO and Russia would agree to speak or act in parallel; once consensus has been reached, make joint decisions, if appropriate, and take joint action on a case-by-case basis. Such joint actions may include peacekeeping operations under the authority of the UN Security Council or the responsibility of the OSCE. Section III details a broad range of topics on which NATO and Russia can consult and perhaps cooperate, including preventing and settling conflicts, peacekeeping, preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and exchanging information on security and defence policies and forces. Conversion of defence industries, defence related environmental issues, and civil emergency preparedness are other areas for consultation and possible cooperation spelled out in this section. Section IV covers military issues. In this section, the members of NATO reiterate their statement of 10 December 1996 that they have no intention, no plan and no reason to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of new members, nor any need to change any aspects of NATO's nuclear posture or nuclear policy - and do not foresee any future need to do so. NATO also reiterates its 14 March 1997 statement indicating that in the current and foreseeable security environment, NATO plans to carry out its collective defence and other missions by ensuring the necessary interoperability, integration and capability for reinforcement rather than by additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces. Accordingly, the Alliance will have to rely on adequate infrastructure to allow for reinforcement if necessary. NATO and Russia commit themselves in the same section to pursuing promptly the work relating to the adaptation of the treaty governing conventional forces in Europe (CFE), in order to further reduce the levels of Treaty Limited Equipment. This commitment will be pursued in the ongoing negotiations on CFE adaptation in Vienna and will help to achieve a result that reflects the changed security environment in Europe since the Treaty was adopted in 1990. Finally, Section IV provides mechanisms to foster closer military-to-military cooperation between NATO and Russia, including by creating military liaison missions on both sides. Both sides have agreed that nothing in the Act restricts or impedes the ability of either side to take decisions independently. It does not provide NATO or Russia at any stage with a right of veto over the actions of the other. The provisions of the NATO-Russia Founding Act can also not be used as a means to disadvantage the interests of other states. The NATO-Russia Founding Act does not subordinate NATO to any other organisation, and it can in no way diminish the political or military effectiveness of the Alliance, including its ability to meet its security commitment to current and future members. NATO and Russia will work together on a broad spectrum of tasks in the Permanent Joint Council, which will remain clearly separate from the North Atlantic Council - NATO's own decision-making body. The Founding Act with Russia has been concluded on its own merits. It does not delay, limit or dilute NATO's opening for the accession of new members, and it will not relegate any new NATO member to second class status. NATO and Russia are in agreement that the provisions of the Founding Act must now be used to their full potential. Both sides are in particular making sure that the new body created by the Founding Act -the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council- is fully used. It will build a new pattern of consultation and cooperation in the interests of all states in the Euro-Atlantic Area. A chronology of major milestones in NATO-Russia relations