Declaration
of the NATO Heads of State and Government participating in the Meeting
of the
North Atlantic Council
Brussels, 2-3 March 1988
A TIME FOR REAFFIRMATION
1. We, the representatives of the sixteen members of the North Atlantic
Alliance, have come together to re-emphasise our unity, to assess the
current state of East-West relations, to review the opportunities and
challenges which lie ahead, and in so doing:
- to reaffirm the common ideals and purposes which are the foundation
of our partnership;
- to rededicate ourselves to the principles and provisions of the Washington
Treaty of 1949;
- to reassert the vital importance of the Alliance for our security,
and the validity of our strategy for peace.
THE PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES OF OUR ALLIANCE
2. Our Alliance is a voluntary association of free and democratic equals,
united by common interests and values. It is unprecedented in its scope
and success. Our security is indivisible. Our Alliance is dedicated to
preserving peace in freedom and to collective self-defence, as recognised
by the United Nations Charter. None of our weapons will ever be used except
in response to attack.
3. Our concept of a balanced security policy as set out in the Harmel
Report has successfully stood the test of time. It remains valid in its
two complementary and mutually reinforcing approaches: political solidarity
and adequate military strength, and, on that basis, the search for constructive
dialogue and cooperation, including arms control. The ultimate political
purpose of our Alliance is to achieve a just and lasting peaceful order
in Europe.
4. The security in freedom and the prosperity of the European and North
American Allies are inextricably linked. The longstanding commitment of
the North American democracies to the preservation of peace and security
in Europe is vital. The presence in Europe of the conventional and nuclear
forces of the United States provides the essential linkage with the United
States strategic deterrent, and, together with the forces of Canada, is
a tangible expression of that commitment. This presence must and will
be maintained.
Likewise, a free, independent and increasingly united Europe is vital
to North America's security. The credibility of Allied defence cannot
be maintained without a major European contribution. We therefore welcome
recent efforts to reinforce the European pillar of the Alliance, intended
to strengthen the transatlantic partnership and Alliance security as a
whole.
THE ATLANTIC ALLIANCE CANNOT BE STRONG IF EUROPE IS WEAK
5. Our aim will continue to be to prevent any kind of war or intimidation.
By maintaining credible deterrence the Alliance has secured peace in Europe
for nearly forty years. Conventional defences alone cannot ensure this;
therefore, for the foreseeable future there is no alternative to the Alliance
strategy for the prevention of war. This is a strategy of deterrence based
upon an appropriate mix of adequate and effective nuclear and conventional
forces which will continue to be kept up to date where necessary.
6. While seeking security and stability at lower levels of armaments,
we are determined to sustain the requisite efforts to ensure the continued
viability, credibility and effectiveness of our conventional and nuclear
forces, including the nuclear forces in Europe, which together provide
the guarantee of our common security. Taking into account the structure
of the Alliance, each of us undertakes to play his part in this joint
endeavour in a spirit of solidarity, reaffirming our willingness to share
fairly the risks, burdens and responsibilities as well as the benefits
of our common efforts.
7. We seek a just and stable condition of peace in which the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of all states are respected and the rights of
all individuals, including their right of political choice, are protected.
We want gradually to overcome the unnatural division of the European continent,
which affects most directly the German people. We will continue to uphold
the freedom and viability of Berlin and to support efforts to improve
the situation there.
The search for improved and more stable relations with the Soviet Union
and the other countries of Eastern Europe is among our principal concerns.
We call upon these countries to work with us for a further relaxation
of tensions, greater security at lower levels of arms, more extensive
human contacts and increased access to information. We will continue the
effort to expand cooperation with the East wherever and whenever this
is of mutual benefit.
EAST-WEST RELATIONS: THE WAY AHEAD
8. We have noted encouraging signs of change in the policies of the
Soviet Union and some of its allies. This creates the prospect for greater
openness in their relations with their own peoples and with other nations.
We welcome such progress as has been already achieved in certain areas.
But we look beyond pronouncements for tangible and lasting policy changes
addressing directly the issues dividing East and West.
9. However, we have to date witnessed no relaxation of the military
effort pursued for years by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union persists
in deploying far greater military forces than are required for its defence.
This massive force, which the Soviet Union has not refrained from using
outside its borders, as is still the case in Afghanistan, constitutes
a fundamental source of tension between East and West. The steady growth
of Soviet military capabilities, as it affects every region of the Alliance,
requires our constant attention.
10. We will continue to be steadfast in the pursuit of our security
policies, maintaining the effective defences and credible deterrence that
form the necessary basis for constructive dialogue with the East including
on arms control and disarmament matters.
To meet our security needs in the years to come will require ever greater
efficiencies in the application of our scarce resources. We are therefore
determined to expand our practical cooperation in the field of armaments
procurement and elsewhere. In this context we recognise the challenges
to our industrially less advanced Allies and the need to address them
through mutual assistance and cooperation.
11. Arms control is an integral part of our security policy. We seek
negotiations not for their own sake but to reach agreements which can
significantly reduce the risk of conflict and make a genuine contribution
to stability and peace. We shall work together vigorously and on the basis
of the closest consultation to this end.
12. Our representatives to the North Atlantic Council continue actively
the further development of a comprehensive concept of arms control and
disarmament as directed in the Statement of our Ministers at Reykjavik
in June 1987.
13. The recently concluded INF agreement between the US and the Soviet
Union is a milestone in our efforts to achieve a more secure peace and
lower levels of arms. It is the impressive result of the political courage,
the realism and the unity of the members of the Alliance. The treaty's
provisions on stringent verification and asymmetrical reductions provide
useful precedents for future agreements. We look forward to its early
entry into force.
14. Consistent with their security requirements, the fifteen Allies
concerned will make use of all possibilities for effectively verifiable
arms control agreements which lead to a stable and secure balance of forces
at a lower level. For them, the comprehensive concept of arms control
and disarmament includes:
- a 50% reduction in the strategic offensive nuclear weapons of the
US and the Soviet Union to be achieved during current Geneva negotiations;
- the global elimination of chemical weapons;
- the establishment of a stable and secure level of conventional forces,
by the elimination of disparities, in the whole of Europe;
- in conjunction with the establishment of a conventional balance and
the global elimination of chemical weapons, tangible and verifiable
reductions of American and Soviet land-based nuclear missile systems
of shorter range, leading to equal ceilings.
15. Recognising the urgency and central importance of addressing the
conventional force imbalances in Europe, we have adopted a separate statement
on conventional arms control.
16. The resolution of East-West differences will require progress in
many fields. Genuine peace in Europe cannot be established solely by arms
control. It must be firmly based on full respect for fundamental human
rights. As we continue our efforts to reduce armaments, we shall press
for implementation on the part of the governments of the Soviet Union
and of other Eastern countries of all of the principles and provisions
of the Helsinki Final Act and of the Madrid Concluding Document. We support
the continuation and strengthening of the CSCE process. It represents
an important means of promoting stable and constructive relations on a
long term basis between countries of East and West, and, moreover, enhances
closer and more fruitful contacts between peoples and individuals throughout
Europe. We call upon all participating states to make every effort for
an early conclusion to the CSCE follow-up meeting in Vienna with a substantial
and balanced final document.
17. We agree that the speedy and complete withdrawal of Soviet troops
from Afghanistan and the effective restoration of that country's sovereignty
would be of major significance. It is against these criteria that we shall
assess General Secretary Gorbachev's recent statements.
18. We hope that at their forthcoming summit in Moscow President Reagan
and General Secretary Gorbachev will be able to build upon the progress
achieved at their Washington meeting last December. We strongly support
the efforts of the United States. These fully accord with our consistent
policy to seek, through high-level dialogue, early and substantial progress
with the Soviet Union on a full range of issues, including greater respect
for human rights, arms control, a lessening of regional tensions, and
improved opportunities for bilateral contacts and cooperation.
19. Reflecting upon almost four decades of common endeavour and sacrifice
and upon the results achieved, we are confident that the principles and
purposes of our Alliance remain valid today and for the future. We are
united in our efforts to ensure a world of more secure peace and greater
freedom. We will meet the opportunities and challenges ahead with imagination
and hope, as well as with firmness and vigilance. We owe no less to our
peoples. Greece recalls its position on nuclear matters.
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