23-24 June 2005

Secretary General in Moscow News 23/06/2005 - NATO Secretary General to visit Russia Background NATO-Russia relations Opinions 24/06/2005 - NATO Speech by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Moscow, Russian Federation NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Moscow for meetings on 24 June with President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of the Security Council Igor Ivanov. Discussions on the development of the NATO-Russia relationship were frank and constructive. Key themes were a shared determination to enhance political dialogue in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), to improve the ability of Allied and Russian forces to work together, to cooperate more closely in preventing, combating and managing the consequences of terrorism and to move forward quickly on a proposed NRC pilot project on counter-narcotics training for relevant Afghan and Central Asian personnel. The meetings also provided an opportunity for high-level exchanges of views on the situations in the Middle East, the Balkans (in particular Kosovo) and Darfur. Moreover, De Hoop Scheffer briefed on NATO's operation in Afghanistan, its training mission in Iraq and its ongoing process of transformation. During his visit, the Secretary General had a lively roundtable discussion with key members of the State Duma and Federation Council. He appealed for their support in helping change outdated public perceptions of NATO in Russia, which tend to still reflect outdated stereotypes instead of the reality of today's NATO: an Alliance that has transformed itself since the end of the Cold War and is developing a mature relationship with Russia based on pragmatic cooperation and vigorous political dialogue -- even if there is not necessarily agreement on all issues. Later, in a speech at the Institute of Europe, the Secretary General , reinforced this message, saying that in spite of all the progress made over the past four years by NATO and Russia toward building a genuine, sustainable partnership, "public perceptions in Russian, including in much of the political elite, do not seem to reflect this reality". He went on to emphasise that "NATO is Russia's partner in security, and this partnership can go as far as the Russian government, and ultimately the Russian people are prepared to take it. ... The future is in your hands, and in the hands of your political leadership. Only by taking full advantage of the possibilities we have at our disposal for real political dialogue and practical cooperation can we leave behind the suspicions of the past in favour of a common future."