Translated material
Roof against storms
NATO parliamentarians named Russia a partner
The autumn session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which began last Friday, ended in Warsaw yesterday. Three hundred parliamentarians from 28 countries - members of the alliance and delegations of partner countries were waiting for speeches by the President of Poland and the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance. However, they did not appear in the meeting room. A video message was received from Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the head of the Polish state Bronislaw Komorowski invited foreign guests to a meeting at the presidential palace.The opposition in Poland was offended by the non-participation of the main NATO commander in the event. The leaders of the Union of Democratic Left Forces, Grzegorz Napieralski and Jerzy Wenderlich, considered this evidence of Poland’s “low status” in the alliance. Karol Karski, deputy head of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Commission from the Law and Justice party, was also disappointed - he said that he could not find out the reason for the absence of the Secretary General even from Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich. Representatives of the ruling “Civil Platform” argued that the NATO Secretary General “does not avoid meetings, but is absent, obviously for serious reasons.” NATO spokesman Robert Pszczeł, a Pole, named the only reason for this as the unfortunate timing of the session on the eve of the NATO summit, which will take place on November 19-20 in Lisbon. This was a jab at Poland, which unsuccessfully planned the timing of the autumn parliamentary session.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the session participants, emphasizing the importance of the new NATO concept, which should be approved at the Lisbon summit: “We, together with partners outside the North Atlantic Alliance, would like to build a roof over people that will effectively protect everyone from the storm.” Marshal of the Sejm Grzegorz Schetyna added: “Relations with Russia are of particular importance, which must be built constructively and in a balanced way using appropriate instruments within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council.” At the same time, the speaker of the lower house of the Polish parliament spoke in favor of NATO’s openness to admit new members: “This applies to Ukraine and Georgia, but also to others. NATO's doors must remain open to those democracies that are able and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership."
In the resolutions adopted by participants in the autumn parliamentary session of NATO, Russia is recognized as “a reliable and responsible partner in the field of nuclear non-proliferation and arms control.” Cooperation with Moscow “is an important factor in global security.” One of the resolutions states that the missile defense system developed by NATO for Europe does not pose a threat to Russia, but “is a unique opportunity to establish effective and constructive cooperation, being designed to better protect the populations and territories of NATO allies and Russia from the threat of ballistic missiles.”
American John Tanner, who at this session ceded the post of chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to German Karl Lamers, emphasized that in the 21st century new challenges are emerging for the North Atlantic Alliance - it must prevent conflicts in its area of responsibility, maintain peace in the Balkans and bring stability to Afghanistan. However, Mr. Tanner immediately complained about the financial crisis, which has reduced the income of NATO countries, which makes it impossible to keep defense spending at the same level.