| Statement
by NATO Secretary General,
Lord Robertson,
in his capacity as Chairman of the NATO-Russia Council
at the NATO-Russia Council
Meeting at the Level of Foreign Ministers
Today, Foreign Ministers of the NATO-Russia Council:
- met to carry forward the work begun by their Heads of State
and Government at the Rome Summit, and to take stock of the
first six months of work in the framework of the NATO-Russia
Council;
- expressed deep satisfaction at the substantial progress
that has been made in implementing the Rome Declaration in
all of the areas of cooperation contained therein;
- welcomed in particular progress achieved in intensifying
cooperation in the following areas:
- in crisis management, where NRC Ambassadors agreed on a
political framework to take work forward on future NATO-Russia
peacekeeping operations, and where progress was made in the
dialogue on ways to enhance border security in the Balkans;
- in the struggle against terrorism, where work is progressing
on a number of assessments of specific terrorist threats to
the Euro-Atlantic Area; looked forward to the NATO-Russia
Conference on "The Role of the Military in Combating
Terrorism" on 9 December in Moscow; and welcomed steps
to meet more effectively contemporary security challenges,
in particular terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction;
- in defence reform, where the October 2002 Rome Seminar has
paved the way for a more fruitful dialogue within the NRC
and increased cooperation in adapting military forces to meet
shared security threats;
- in theatre missile defence, where an ambitious work programme
has set forth a road to interoperability of Allied and Russian
systems;
- in civil emergencies, where the September 2002 exercise
hosted by Russia at Bogorodsk has provided an impetus for
increased cooperation; and
- in non-proliferation, where work is underway for a joint
assessment of global trends in the proliferation of NBC agents
and their means of delivery;
- noted the assurance of NATO member states that decisions
taken by the Alliance at its Summit meeting in Prague are
not directed against the security interests of Russia or any
other Partner state;
- reiterated the goals, principles and commitments contained
in the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security,
and in the Rome Declaration. Reaffirming adherence to the
CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European security, they agreed
to continue to work cooperatively toward ratification by all
the States Parties and entry into force of the Agreement on
Adaptation of the CFE Treaty, which would permit accession
by non-CFE states;
- welcomed the approach of those non-CFE countries who have
stated their intention to request accession to the adapted
CFE Treaty upon its entry into force, and agreed that their
accession would provide an important additional contribution
to European stability and security;
- agreed that in the current security environment, where NATO
Allies and Russia increasingly face common threats and challenges,
continued intensification of cooperation in the framework
of the NRC will further enhance security throughout the Euro-Atlantic
area, and to this end tasked NRC Ambassadors to develop a
robust work programme for 2003, building upon the progress
achieved in 2002.
As NRC Chairman I am looking forward to my visit to Moscow
on 8-10 December 2002 for further discussions with the Russian
leadership as an opportunity to further develop NATO-Russia
cooperation.
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