international relationships

On Saturday, the International Conference “Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Rome: Prospects for Partnership” ended at St. Petersburg State University. For two days, representatives of the alliance, as well as diplomats and scientists, tried to understand what the Russia-NATO G20 was capable of. At the same time, the discussion participants preferred to avoid the topic of a military strike on Iraq. Western scientists and diplomats consider NATO the most successful military-political project, because the alliance survived the Cold War and did not collapse, but, on the contrary, expanded. But apparently no one knows what will happen to the block tomorrow. For example, the director of the Center for Defense Information, Ivan Safranchuk, is convinced that the alliance has weakened and turned into a giant “PR machine” and a mechanism for communication of national military elites. And cooperation between NATO and Russia can be limited to “small and specific matters” (such as rescuing the crews of submarines in distress).
A detailed report on possible scenarios for the development of NATO was presented by Professor Celeste Wallander from the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies. She did not rule out that the alliance could turn into an “empty shell.” In this case, the United States will begin to act independently, without looking back at Europe. According to the Washington professor, although America understands Russia better than Europe, a renewed NATO could still be a good military and political tool for the Russians. Colonel Alexander Anastasin from the Center for Military-Strategic Research of the Russian General Staff called Mrs. Wallander “an irresistible and brilliant Celeste,” but was pessimistic about future cooperation. “NATO’s massive power is still directed against us,” said Mr. Anastasin. However, he admitted that it is better to have conversations than to “see each other on the sides of the trench.”
The discussion on Iraq and related disagreements in the bloc was nipped in the bud. French Assistant Secretary General of NATO Jean Fournet said that the 19 leaders of the alliance countries are of the same opinion on the need for military action against the regime of Saddam Hussein. And the dispute is only about the timing of the start of the operation.
The most long-awaited guest of the conference was the Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council, Mikhail Margelov. He flew in from Helsinki, where he participated in another similar discussion. "English or Russian?" - Mr. Margelov asked the audience out of habit. But then I decided to speak Russian. The senator warned Europeans that for them, too, “the bomb is ticking” and “Europe is just lucky, because it didn’t explode like in New York or Moscow.” He also reminded representatives of the NATO bloc that Turks, Algerians and Moroccans populate Germany and France in large numbers. Therefore, “the day is not far when Europe will become the United Arab Emirates.” “I can speak Arabic, but what are you going to do?” - asked the polyglot Margelov.
LEONID STOGOV

Newspaper "Kommersant St. Petersburg" No. 22/P dated 02/10/2003, p. 3

What should Russia do with NATO?