15 May 2006

NATO-Russia Rally close to halfway mark News 13/05/2006 - NATO Yekaterinburg - defence reform in the spotlight 12/05/2006 - NATO Science city second stop on NATO-Russia Rally 11/05/2006 - NATO NATO-Russia rally starts at the end of the line 04/05/2006 - NATO NATO-Russia Rally to take place in Russia Multimedia High resolution photos Rally map Well over a 1000 kilometres from its starting point in Vladivostok, the NATO Russia-Rally has moved from Siberia to the ‘European’ part of the Russian Federation with a stop in Samara on 15 May. The Rally is a series of public events held in nine cities across the Russian Federation from 11 to 26 May. The aim is to give the Russian public a chance to hear more about, and to debate, cooperation between the Alliance and Russia in the framework of the NATO-Russia Council. Leaving Siberia The city of Samara was for a long time the last ‘European’ point in Russia, and the place from which Russia started her expansion towards Siberia at the end of the 16th century. Each Rally stop has a different flavour to it, and the Samara event focused to a great part on culture, with a programme in Russian, English and French. This was welcomed by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Dmitriy Tarabrin, who underlined the need for building understanding and trust. He called on the youth gathered at the venue to think creatively and let go of stereotypes as the world is changing. As in previous stops, the Rally was an opportunity for different views on NATO-Russia cooperation to be heard, with one of the protesters gathered outside the venue being given the floor to explain her point of view. Speakers included the Ambassadors of Slovenia to NATO and the Russian Federation, as well as NATO and local Russian officials. The event was held at the Samara State Pedagogical University. Next stop – Volgograd, 17 May.