Engaging Russia as Partner and Participant. The Next Stage of NATO-Russia Relations

Abstract : In May 1997, NATO concluded a Founding Act with the Russian Federation. Then, following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, NATO and the Russian Federation agreed to create a NATO-Russia Council (NRC), "where NATO member states and Russia will work as equal partners in areas of common interest." This report does not review in detail the record of the NATO-Russia Council. Rather, it points to some additional areas in which the members of the NATO-Russia Working Group believe the NRC can usefully become engaged. Whether the time has arrived for redefining Russia's relations with NATO-or within NATO is the key point of this report. This matter has two dimensions: the fulfillment of a 20th-century security agenda to ensure that the last century's European tragedy will "never again" be visited and a new agenda for the 21st century, typified by three concerns: terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and security for the broader Middle East. These two agendas include * Russia's greater and more-integrated participation in security, political, economic, and other arrangements for the great ongoing experiment in determining future security in Europe and beyond * Russia's role in the development of Western policy and practice in areas beyond Europe, especially in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Transcaucasus. In short, the next phase of NATO-Russia relations should focus on Russia's greater engagement as a partner and a participant.