7-8 Feb. 2003

Russia and NATO after the Rome Summit The annual St Petersburg conference was held for the third time, on 7-8 February, bringing together high-level participants principally from Eastern and Northern Europe, as well as from North America. The conference aimed to evaluate the role of NATO and Russia in anti-terrorist operations and focused on cooperation between NATO members and Russia in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council "at 20", created at the Rome Summit in May 2002. The conference, entitled "Russia and NATO after the Rome Summit: Prospects of partnership", was organised by the St Petersburg State University and co-sponsored by the US Consulate and NATO. It examined the Rome agreements and their consequences, as well as the decisions taken at the NATO Prague Summit in November 2002, in particular enlargement and its consequences. They also discussed NATO and EU rapid reaction forces and areas of NATO-Russia cooperation, such as terrorism, peace-keeping and the control of nuclear arms. The conference closed with a round-table on future developments in NATO-Russia relations There were approximately 120 participants at the conference, from diplomatic, academic and parliamentary circles, as well as representatives from the military, NATO, think-tanks and the media. Additional information: St. Petersburg State University