Press
Release
1 Dec. 2003 |
Statement
Meeting of the
NATO-Russia Council
at the level of Ministers
of Defence
NATO Headquarters, Brussels, 1 December
2003
- We, the Defence Ministers of the NATO-Russia Council,
met in Brussels on 1 December 2003. Encouraged by the
concrete progress achieved to date in the NRC framework,
we are determined to build on achievements and to develop
the means we need to act jointly in the face of common threats
and challenges. On that basis, we renewed our commitment
to deepening our engagement towards a wide-ranging NATO-Russia
partnership on defence and military issues.
- On cooperation against terrorism, we welcomed the progress
achieved on threat assessments. We urged further work on
practical aspects of our fight against terrorism, and called
for the development of concrete measures to facilitate rapid
cooperation in response to future terrorist incidents, and
welcomed the proposal by Supreme Allied Commander Transformation
to host the third conference at senior level in this field,
in Norfolk, in March 2004.
- We look forward to the completion of a joint assessment
of global trends in the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and their means of delivery as a first and significant
step towards a comprehensive and regular exchange of views
among NRC countries. We agreed to continue broadening the
current NATO-Russia non-proliferation dialogue in support
of efforts against proliferation of nuclear, biological and
chemical agents and their delivery means, and to further
explore possibilities for practical cooperation.
- We welcomed the Russian invitation to NRC countries
to observe a field exercise on safe handling procedures for
nuclear weapons, as part of the ongoing consultations on
nuclear weapons issues and implementation of the NATO-Russia
Nuclear Experts' Consultations Work Plan for 2004.
- We applauded the progress achieved in taking forward
the proposal to conduct a NATO-Russia procedural exercise
designed to address the Political Aspects of a Generic Concept
of Joint NATO-Russia Peacekeeping Operations, and welcomed
in this context the successful completion of the preparatory
phase of this exercise. We welcomed the decision to take
forward the recommendations, resulting from an NRC peacekeeping
seminar last September in Berlin on training and interoperability,
which will enable closer cooperation between NATO and Russia
in this realm. We look forward to exploring possibilities
of developing interoperability between national military
units in the field of peacekeeping.
- We noted with satisfaction the progress made in carrying
forward Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) cooperation, particularly
from the perspective of developing procedures for cooperation
between NATO and Russian TMD forces in crisis response operations.
We welcomed specifically the development of an experimental
TMD concept and an experimental Concept of Operations, and
the conduct of a Command Post Exercise scheduled in early
2004, and stressed the importance of a joint interoperability
study launched this year, which will analyse and evaluate
possible levels of interoperability of TMD systems.
- We welcomed the approval of the Cooperative Airspace
Initiative (CAI) Project Plan and encouraged the group to
progress further on the identification of possible solutions
for the reciprocal exchange of data on civil and military
air traffic pictures, and thereby enhance capabilities to
combat terrorism threats to civil aviation.
- We noted the progress achieved in implementing our first
yearly programme on defence reform and agreed a new Work
Programme for 2004. We welcomed exchanges on the financial
and budgetary aspects of defence reform, as well as the geographic
and functional expansion of the NATO-Russia Retraining Centre,
and encouraged further intensification of our efforts in
these areas. We reiterated our determination to
enhance practical work on military-technical cooperation
through its defence industrial and research and technology
dimensions. Finally, we agreed to develop measures to enhance
transparency in defence planning and force structures to
address jointly ongoing efforts at development and modernisation
of our armed forces. We agreed to explore what instruments
could be used to increase the interoperability and deployability
for joint operations
of NATO and Russian forces.
- We stressed that improving interoperability was a key
priority in order to increase the capability of NATO and
Russian forces to act together. In this context, we welcomed
the Exercise and Training Programme agreed for 2004 and beyond
under the direction and oversight of the NATO Chiefs of Defence
Staff and the Chief of the Russian General Staff, as well
as the practical activities agreed in the framework of the
2004 Work Programme on Cooperation on Search and Rescue at
Sea. We also welcomed the imminent start of discussions on
the development of protocols for visits by NATO and Russian
naval units to each other's ports.
- In the field of interoperability and with the aim of
facilitating joint action, we agreed to take forward a coherent
and unified programme of logistic cooperation, including
ongoing projects on air-to-air refuelling and the use of
Russian transport capability. We agreed to facilitate the
development of the necessary legal framework for such cooperation,
including through the development of Memoranda of Understanding
on Air Transport and Host Nation Support. We welcomed the
readiness of the Russian Federation and NATO to conclude
a Status of Forces Agreement as a critical step towards joint
military activities, and urged the rapid completion of negotiations in
the near future.
- As a further demonstration of an ever-deepening NATO-Russia
relationship, we welcomed the establishment of a direct secure
telephone communication link between the Secretary General
and the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation. We
conveyed our special gratitude to the Chairman of the NATO-Russia
Council, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, for his personal contribution
to the development of a new quality in NATO-Russia cooperation.
We are confident that the new chairman, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
will continue to build on this record of success.
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