NATO: We will never attack Russia

12/03/2010 - 15:05

Good relations with Russia will become one of the key issues in a new strategy of NATO which General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen promised to present in November 2010.

A policy of dialogue and cooperation with Russia is the best security guarantee in Europe to all NATO member nations, Anders Fogh Rasmussen stressed on March 12 at a conference in Warsaw.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen: “I would like to stress that NATO is not a threat to Russia. NATO will never attack Russia. In return, NATO does not consider Russia as a threat, either. That's why Russia's new military doctrine does not reflect the real state of things”.

Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Poland's defense minister Bogdan Klich also expressed a desire to cooperate with Russia and approved NATO's new strategic concept. However, Fyodr Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Relations magazine, said in an interview with the European Radio for Belarus that such plans would not have become reality soon.

Fyodr Lukyanov: “There has always been a huge distance between the words that the sides are ready for real strategic closer ties and the reality. In Russia, NATO is still perceived as something hostile and unfriendly. Perceptions both in Russia and in the West are still very far from reality. Mentally, people continue to leave in a situation when there is a threat from the West or the East”.

NATO does not make sense any longer and is not able to formulate exact goals for the future, reckons Fyodr Lukyanov. The situation is made even more difficult by the differences in the interests of NATO member states. In this uncertain situation between NATO and Russia, Belarus has to maneuvre.

Fyodr Lukyanov: “All the countries between the two giant geopolitical players, including Belarus, are forced to maneuver. Otherwise, they have no option. But now the situation for maneuvering is worse, because one side does not know what the other wants. And the countries between them are somewhat hanging. There is low interest towards them. Especially, it is obvious with Ukraine”.

NATO would like to see Russia as a "military predictable" neighbor, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski noted. So far, it is hard to describe Russia as a reliable partner, he said.

Radoslaw Sikorski: “Some exercises that Russia holds near our border do not make us feel that Russia has become a partner that we would like to see”.

As for the Russian-French deal to sell landing ships, there is not threat, according to Anders Fogh Rasmussen. "This is a bilateral trade deal between Russia and France. We are not interfering. But I reckon that those shipments will be inaccordance with international procedures and that Russia will never use this equipment against its neighbors or NATO member states", he said.

Apart from improving relations with Russia, NATO's new strategy also must improve cooperation with EU structures in order to avoid doubling programs and structures what is important in the situation of the lack of financial resources.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen also promised to make the bureaucratic staff at the headquarters in Brussels more efficient.

In the view of the Secretary General, the Alliance should not be a world policeman who interferes with all possible conflicts. Nevertheless, Afghanistan remains a very significant problem to NATO. Therefore, NATO troops will remainn their for the next several years.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen: “There is no exact date for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. They will remain there as long as it is needed to finish the work. The mission in Afghanistant will end when local residents will be in charge of security on their own territory”.

NATO will also continue the Open Doors policy, but Ukraine and Georgia will have to meet certain requirement in order to proceed towards a possible membership.

Photo: Hanna Balakhovich