What to talk to NATO about

The alliance does not want to let Russia into its secrets

The meeting of the Russia-NATO Council (NRC) scheduled for December 4 at the level of foreign ministers in Brussels was on the verge of failure. Russia's permanent representative to the North Atlantic Alliance, Dmitry Rogozin, said yesterday that one of the NATO members - Canada - blocked the adoption of all three documents being prepared: on the council's work program for the year, on improving its work and on conducting a joint assessment of security threats.

At yesterday's council meeting at the ambassadorial level, Russia proposed adding to the documents a provision stating that the main goal of the NRC's work is the reform of the European security system. Mr. Rogozin recalled that Russia recently published a draft treaty on European security , the idea of ​​which President Dmitry Medvedev came up with back in 2008. The diplomat said that if NATO members question the thesis of the “indivisibility of security” in Europe, “then what should we talk about with them.”

At the same time, Russia proposed creating a working group on Afghanistan within the NRC, where 28 members of the alliance would share detailed information with the Russians. Dmitry Rogozin complained that the alliance wants to receive all possible assistance from Moscow in Afghanistan, “without providing clarity regarding the political and military aspects of the Afghan operation.” Russia does not want “special subgroups to be created” to discuss its cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan, insisting on its full participation in NATO discussions on this issue. These demands raised objections from some members of the alliance, especially the Canadian delegation. “A faction is steadily emerging in NATO that opposes a reset in relations with Russia,” said the Russian permanent representative. He noted that the Canadians were supported by the British and the Baltic states, and “the scenario was worked out” in advance.

At the same time, the parties express hope that the ministerial meeting this Friday will still take place. According to Rogozin, after the publication of the draft treaty on European security, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, “even in the absence of other documents, has something to talk about with his colleagues.”

The scandal in Brussels shows how difficult it is for Russia and NATO to mend relations that were damaged in 2008 due to the war in the Caucasus. Just the other day, political scientists said that these relations are improving, and it is symbolic that this is happening in the year of the 60th anniversary of the formation of the alliance. However, it is worth recalling that the Warsaw Pact Organization, which opposed it during the Cold War, ceased to exist back in 1991.

Moscow is inviting its Western partners to agree on a new security architecture. In November, during a visit to Berlin, NATO Secretary General Dane Anders Fogh Rasmussen (pictured) also proposed opening a “new chapter” in relations with Russia, “our important strategic partner.” The 56-year-old Secretary General will talk about this more specifically during his visit to Moscow in mid-December.

But now he is ready to give Russia a special place in the new NATO concept. This is what the heads of foreign policy departments of Russia and the 28 countries of the alliance should discuss at the Russia-NATO Council (established in 2002) on December 4 in Brussels. The parties are preparing a number of agreements for signing. One of the documents may enable Russian specialists to service military equipment preserved from Soviet times in the alliance countries and Afghanistan. Moscow may also return to its participation in NATO’s anti-terrorist Operation Active Endeavor, which was interrupted a year ago, against suspicious ships in the Mediterranean Sea. The alliance and Russia can resume cooperation in the fight against pirates in Somalia. And if the scandal that arose yesterday does not interfere, then the cooperation plan for 2010 will be approved.

There are, however, other problems. In Brussels, as Vremya Novostei was told by the Georgian Foreign Ministry, NATO members are scheduled to meet with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Georgia on December 3 as part of the work of similar councils. Both countries dream of membership in the alliance, which Russia opposes. True, now neither Ukrainians nor Georgians, due to their internal problems and unresolved conflicts, speak so categorically about the timing of joining NATO. Previously, the Georgian authorities, for example, promised to do this during the tenure of President Mikheil Saakashvili (his current presidential term will expire in 2013 if the opposition does not achieve early elections). Instead of the coveted NATO Membership Action Plan, Georgians received an individual cooperation plan a year ago. “Georgia should come to terms with the fact that it is no longer the center of world politics,” Tbilisi military expert Kakha Katsitadze told Vremya Novostey. -- Strategic interests win. Firstly, the international community has become somewhat disillusioned with Georgia. Secondly, there will no longer be an insurmountable confrontation between Russia and the West, which the Georgian authorities would like to play on.”

Our interlocutor noted that for him, an “indicator” of the ongoing changes in relations between Russia and NATO was the readiness of France, a member of the alliance, to discuss the sale of a Mistral-class helicopter carrier landing ship to the Russian side. Let us recall that in 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on behalf of the European Union, negotiated to end the war in the Caucasus with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

Moscow believes that new proposals by Mr. Medvedev, set out in the draft treaty on European security already handed over to the alliance’s Secretary General, can help overcome the confrontation between Russia and NATO. Parties to this treaty will be able to consider an armed attack on other members as an armed attack on themselves and provide each other military assistance until the UN Security Council takes measures necessary to maintain peace. The document can be signed by all interested states of the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian space and leading international organizations, including NATO.

Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Brussels, Ivan SOLOVIEV