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| Updated: 09-Jun-2005 | Press Releases |
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Press Release 9 June 2005 |
Statement
Meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of Ministers of Defence 1. We, the Defence Ministers of the NATO-Russia Council, met in Brussels on 9 June 2005. We welcomed progress achieved in the NRC framework on defence and military issues which contributed to the security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. We are determined to build on these achievements and develop further our practical cooperation and our ability to respond, in the spirit of the Rome Declaration, to an increasing number of emerging threats and challenges. 2. In this context, we welcomed Russia’s signature of the Partnership for Peace Status of Forces Agreement on 21 April 2005. Its entry into force will reinforce opportunities for concrete, practical NATO-Russia cooperation and our ability to work and act together. 3. We reiterated our determination to strengthen our cooperation in preventing terrorism, combating terrorist activities and managing the consequences of terrorist acts. To this end, we will work towards the full implementation of the NRC Action Plan on Terrorism agreed in December 2004. We noted the status report on military cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and welcomed further efforts in this area, including through exercises and training. We look forward to the NRC Conference on Lessons Learned from Recent Terrorist Attacks to be held in late June. 4. We reviewed plans and preparations for Russian support to NATO’s Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean aimed at helping deter, disrupt and protect against terrorism. We welcomed the development of a comprehensive training programme which will see Russian vessels using all opportunities for cooperation in 2005. 5. We exchanged views on current international security issues and reviewed the situations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. We also discussed issues of security and stability in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. 6. We endorsed the Political-Military Guidance towards Enhanced Interoperability between Forces of Russia and NATO Nations, which, together with the early entry into force of the SOFA, will facilitate enhanced interoperability among our forces. We welcomed the progress made in military-to-military cooperation, in particular the implementation of the NRC Military Representatives Work Plan 2005 and Beyond, including the list of activities in our agreed interoperability framework programme and the participation in it of the 15 th Motorised Rifle Brigade and other military units taking account of their potential contribution to future operations. 7. We discussed our cooperation in the area of defence reform and exchanged views on the way ahead. We welcomed the progress achieved in the implementation of the 2005 Work Programme in the areas of defence reform and the evolution of the military; the management of human and financial resources; the management of the consequences of defence reform; and the reform of the defence industries, in particular the activities undertaken in the field of macro-economic, financial and budgetary issues; the efforts in the area of linguistic interoperability and terminology; the continuation of the NATO Defence College fellowship programme for 2005/06 and the development of a Moscow-based defence reform course for officers of the Russian Ministry of Defence; and the expansion of the activities of the NATO-Russia Retraining Centre in Moscow in the field of retraining discharged military personnel. 8. We reviewed progress in the field of logistic cooperation, and look forward to the early completion of NATO-Russia agreements covering specific aspects of this cooperation. 9. We welcomed the successful completion of the Phase I Feasibility Study of the Cooperative Airspace Initiative (CAI) on the reciprocal exchange of civil and military air traffic data and encouraged the continuation of this important project according to the approved recommendations and programme of work as a contribution to improving civil aviation security against terrorist threats. 10. We noted the progress achieved in the area of Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) cooperation to address practical arrangements for providing combined defence against theatre missiles in a crisis response operation. In particular, we welcome the successful conduct of a second NRC Theatre Missile Defence Command Post Exercise hosted by The Netherlands in March 2005 and the Russian proposal to host the next command post exercise in the second half of 2006. We recognise the importance of our joint work as nations consider, individually and collectively, the way ahead on the development of TMD. 11. We noted progress in our on-going efforts to broaden and strengthen cooperation in evaluating and responding to threats posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery. We look forward to the results of expert discussions of specific opportunities for practical cooperation on protection from nuclear, biological and chemical agents. 12. We affirmed the importance of improving mutual understanding and building increasing levels of confidence and security on nuclear weapons issues and welcomed the progress made in practical cooperation in this area. We look forward to the Seminar on Nuclear Doctrine and Strategy to be held in Germany in July 2005 and the NRC observation of the nuclear accident response exercise to be hosted by the UK in September 2005.
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