06/03/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-09923

NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL

After the Second World War, NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed to protect Western Europe from the threat posed by Soviet Communist aggression. NATO’s main goals have been to defend democracy and advance freedom.

Today, the Soviet Union no longer exists and Russia is transforming itself economically and politically. Now the former Communist giant is taking another step in overcoming fifty years of division from the West. And NATO is reaching out to what President George W. Bush called "a new Russia, that is building freedom in its own land."

On May 28^th, the Allied and Russian heads of state and government inaugurated the new NATO-Russia Council. The council, said Mr. Bush, "gives us the opportunity to move forward together on common challenges and to begin building ties that can be expanded far into the future."

The NATO-Russia Council will provide the opportunity for NATO and Russia to work as equal partners on areas of common interest, such as counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, missile defense, and airspace control. A record of successful cooperation in the NATO-Russia Council will result in an ever-deepening partnership between NATO and Russia, strengthening the security of all Europe.

"The attacks of September the 11^th," said President Bush, "made clear that the new dangers of our age threaten all nations, including Russia. The months since have made clear that by working together against these threats, we multiply our effectiveness."

And, said President Bush, "Nothing we do will subtract from NATO’s core mission." NATO will move forward, "step by step. And as our trust and track record of success grow, so will the breadth and depth of our work together."

The NATO-Russia Council does not affect NATO’s existing responsibilities as a political and military alliance based on the principle of collective defense. The council does not give Russia a veto over NATO decisions or actions. NATO members retain the freedom to act, by consensus, on any issue at any time. But with the NATO-Russia Council, said President Bush, "Two former foes are now joined as partners.... And this partnership takes us closer to an even larger goal: a Europe that is whole, free and at peace for the first time in history."

As President Bush put it, "The NATO-Russia Council offers Russia a path toward forming an alliance with the alliance. It offers all our nations a way to strengthen our common security, and it offers the world a prospect of a more hopeful century."