07 July 2003
Text: NATO Commander Praises Russian Military's Service in Balkans
(Says NATO-Russian military cooperation ended Balkan civil war) (2530)
NATO Commander General James Jones praised the peacekeeping service of
the Russian Military Contingent in Kosovo, saying their withdrawal
July 2 only signifies "the end of the first chapter of this new
NATO-Russian military relationship."
"History will show that NATO-Russian military cooperation ended civil
war in the Balkans, and sparked the development of a new, broader,
special partnership in Europe," Jones said July 3 at SHAPE
Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. "As Supreme Commander of both KFOR
(Kosovo Peacekeeping Force) and SFOR (Stabilization Force), it is with
deep respect that I express my gratitude for the many efforts by the
Russian Federation and its Armed Forces to preserve peace and
stability in the Balkans."
The Russian peacekeeping force withdrew after serving as part of the
Kosovo Peacekeeping Force in ceremonies at Camp Vrele July 2,
according to a NATO press release.
Jones said a key component of the new NATO-Russian military
relationship is substantial advances in military interoperability in
communications, command and control of forces.
Jones, a U.S. Marine general, is the supreme allied commander, Europe,
and the commander of the U.S. European Command.
Following is the text of Jones' remarks:
The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in the text:
-- IFOR: Implementation Force.
-- KFOR: Kosovo Peacekeeping Force.
-- SFOR: Stabilization Force.
(begin text)
[SHAPE HEADQUARTERS
July 3, 2003]
Peacekeeping: Achievements and Next Steps
By General James L. Jones
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
In the early to mid-1990s, civil war and ethnic conflict in the
Balkans were Europe's first post-Cold War challenge to the vision of a
peaceful, democratic Europe whole and free. A Europe, once divided in
the Cold War by different ideologies, and different economic and
political systems, could not be divided in the post-Cold War era into
regions of peace and stability and regions of war and instability. The
challenge put before Europe and the international community was clear.
In 1995, solving the crisis in the Balkans required new forms of
political and military cooperation. At the forefront of the new forms
of military and political cooperation, crisis management, and crisis
resolution was NATO and Russian military efforts in peacekeeping. The
unprecedented IFOR operation united NATO and Russian troops under a
special system of command, with NATO and Russian troops conducting
missions and tasks in accordance with a single Operational Plan
(OPLAN), united by a common purpose, common mission, and common rules
of engagement. This was a fundamentally new development, forged at a
time when the Founding Act had not been conceived, the Permanent Joint
Council or NATO-Russia Council (NRC) did not exist, NATO-Russia
political-level consultations as they exist today in the NRC did not
occur, and NATO and Russian military relations were at the initial
stage of development, with only infrequent, periodic contact at the
highest level and little, if any, practical work between our armed
forces. However, seven and one-half years later, NATO and Russia have
committed thousands of troops to the NATO-led Balkan operations of
SFOR and KFOR, serving shoulder to shoulder with a common mission,
successfully accomplishing a myriad of complex military tasks while
operating in a shared risk environment.
Our military operations, first in SFOR then in KFOR, combined with the
wide-ranging political and economic efforts of the international
community, are giving this region stability, security, and peace
necessary to forge a new future. With this stability, security, and
peace in the Balkans, Europe itself is safer, more secure, and more
stable. At the same time, NATO and Russia's relationship in the
military sphere -- born in the commitment to end war and to face
directly the destructive forces of civil war and ethnic conflict in
the Balkans -- has become a cornerstone of Europe's future and offers
the promise of deeper, more permanent military interoperability that
can be called upon by political leaders in the future to solve key
security problems. As Russia withdraws its peacekeepers from the
Balkans, bringing to an end this historic chapter of military
cooperation, it is important to review what we have accomplished
together and focus on the future of NATO-Russia military
interoperability in light of the security challenges of the 21st
century.
Russian and NATO forces have been keeping the peace in the Balkans
since 1996. However, the NATO-Russian military partnership in the
Balkans actually began on 15 October 1995 with the arrival of
Colonel-General L. P. Shevtsov at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers
Europe (SHAPE). Charged with the responsibility to develop an approach
to integrating Russian forces with NATO forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
the Russian military delegation and their SHAPE counterparts developed
in three weeks a special command and control arrangement for Russian
forces (including a special terms of reference for a new position at
SHAPE called the Deputy to SACEUR for Russian Forces), agreed a set of
guiding principles that would govern NATO and Russian peacekeeping
operations, identified the Russian area of responsibility, and
outlined the fundamental military tasks for Russian peacekeepers.
After decades of separation, little interaction in the early 1990s, a
minimum understanding of the other's military system, Russian and NATO
military officers were able to find a common language, a common set of
principles, and a common agreement that first and foremost ensured
success on the ground for our servicemen who would be tasked with the
difficult mission of implementing the peace. This accomplishment is
not only testimony to the professionalism of the Russian and NATO
military, but set the stage for maintaining a common
operational-strategic framework for the conduct of the peacekeeping
operations that would assist Russia and NATO in the subsequent
development of future SFOR OPLANs. Moreover, these basic agreements
and approaches formed the foundation for the developing the Helsinki
Agreed Points for KFOR.
This operational-strategic interaction at SHAPE was accomplished
through the presence of a senior Russian General Staff officer at
SHAPE, serving as Deputy to SACEUR for Russian forces (Senior Military
Representative) and working directly with SACEUR on behalf of the
Chief of the Russian General Staff. Representing Russia's Armed Forces
in a multinational headquarters where 48 nations are represented,
Col-Gen Shevtsov, then General-Lieutenant A.G. Krivolapov, and
General-Lieutenant V.A. Loginov and their staffs have played a vital
part in the success of the NATO-Russia endeavor, as well as a critical
part of the overall success of the SFOR and KFOR operations. With this
direct day-to-day interaction at SHAPE HQs [headquarters], NATO and
Russia military representatives have been able to maintain open
channels of communication between the Russian General Staff and SHAPE,
exchange operational strategic-level assessments of ongoing operations
and threats to stability in the region, and work out solutions to the
difficult and complex task of maintaining security and assisting the
international community as they implement their activities. This
common approach allowed NATO and Russian forces to coordinate force
redeployments, troop reductions, shift priority missions and tasks at
the tactical level -- directly improving the continuity of effort and
focus on the mission at hand. Most importantly, this common
operational-strategic perspective also framed concrete, high-level
consultations between the NATO and the Russian military at the highest
level -- which continues to this day -- and now embrace issues of
mutual interest and concern as they relate to 21st century security
challenges.
While the significant accomplishments at the operational-strategic
level played an important role in shaping the potential for the first
NATO and Russian military operation to be successful, the actual
success of this endeavor fell upon the shoulders of the NATO and
Russian servicemen operating at the tactical level. At the tactical
level, first Russian Airborne Forces, then Russian Ground Forces have
operated with NATO forces for several years. Now routine, and
involving a wide range of tactical activities between Russia and the
armed forces of several NATO nations, these operations at the outset
of our common mission were far from routine. Simultaneous force
deployment in 1996 required extensive coordination of air, ground, and
sea space by Russian and NATO elements. At one point in the initial
deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russian and NATO transport aviation
were arriving at Tuzla Air Base and off-loading troops and equipment
every 25 minutes with these troops immediately moving to designated
tactical positions. Facing heavily armed forces on all sides, forces
that had been at war for years, a country and economic infrastructure
devastated by the disaster of civil war and torn apart by ethnic
strife, extremely difficult terrain made more dangerous by the
extensive presence of minefields, NATO and Russian forces operated
together with discipline, character, skill, impartiality, and humanity
to meet the initial D+90 [90-day] objectives of the IFOR OPLAN.
Russian and NATO forces were up to the challenge and met this
challenge with a firm commitment to one another. The first shots fired
by any IFOR soldier -- NATO, Russian, or other Troop Contributing
Nations -- was a NATO soldier firing his weapon in support of a
Russian soldier. This first 90 days proved that NATO and Russia could
interoperate at the tactical level, and the complexity and challenge
of working together toward a common objective in a common threat
environment cemented relations between commanders and soldiers,
producing a clear understanding among all involved in both operations
since 1996 that interdependence, mutual trust and confidence is not
only a reality, but an essential requirement for success at all
levels.
Over the years, the tactical interaction between NATO and Russian
forces in SFOR and KFOR has expanded and improved. Common training
exercises in all military spheres of interaction -- communications,
maneuver, command and control, fire support, combat service support,
medical, public information, civil affairs -- have been conducted.
Live-fire exercises, educational exchanges, staff exchanges,
pre-deployment training and orientation have occurred with the goal of
ensuring that our forces were prepared to accomplish the tasks our
nations have asked them to fulfill. It could be said that our troops
at the tactical level were at the front of the NATO-Russia
relationship, establishing the foundation for a genuine and reliable
military interoperability. The spirit of camaraderie, common purpose,
and commitment was exemplified in the conduct of a live-fire exercise
in SFOR involving Russian, U.S. and British Forces. The live-fire
exercise scenario was developed together involving Russian Airborne
forces, U.S. mechanized infantry and APACHE attack helicopters, and
British Royal Artillery and required a special scheme of combined
maneuver, reinforced by coordinated Russian artillery, U.S. APACHE
attack helicopters, and Royal artillery strikes to be successful. Our
tactical commanders understood, and continue to understand the
interdependence of effort and mutual trust required to successfully
take on such significant military tasks together. Over the past seven
years, thousands of Russian Airborne and Ground Force troops have
worked, trained, and exercised tirelessly with thousands of their NATO
counterparts on the ground, in the mud, and in the cold. These
servicemen know at all levels -- soldier, NCO [non-commissioned
officer], officer -- what can be accomplished together and what is
required to do the job right. I can think of no better contribution to
Europe's future than to know that the future generations of NATO and
Russian military leaders will have this experience as a frame of
reference when they are asked to take on tomorrow's challenges
together.
The withdrawal of Russian troops from the Balkans signifies only the
end of the first chapter of this new NATO-Russia military
relationship. There is much to be done together and we must prepare
for the future. Toward this end, NATO and Russia are embarking on a
new phase of developing military interoperability with a view to
improving interoperability and making this interoperability a
permanent capability that can be called upon by our nations. Most
recently, NATO and Russian military leaders approved a new effort
designed to improve interoperability and measure progress in
developing interoperability, which will be implemented in a four-phase
program. I strongly welcome Russia's decision to structure its
training and exercise activities with NATO around core
interoperability objectives. It is time to take the necessary steps to
ensure that the next time our most valuable national resources -- the
men and women in uniform -- are committed into harm's way we are ready
at the outset to work together at all levels to successfully meet the
demands of the mission. Global events over the past years have shown
that an ever-increasing complexity and diversity of military missions
will be required to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The
global terrorist threat, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their associated delivery means, extremism, and ethnic conflict
will require an ever-increasing level of interoperability and
sophistication to be successful. Thus, the demands are greater today
than in 1995 and NATO and Russia must work together to advance
interoperability further, and not accept the current level of
interoperability as a ceiling, but look upon it as the floor. The new
NATO and Russia interoperability effort puts us on the right track,
examining new areas of interoperability while simultaneously capturing
and institutionalizing the successful tactics, techniques, procedures,
and processes that have served our nations well in SFOR and KFOR. This
is an important first step, that will be followed by successive steps,
leading to the type of overall relationship NATO and Russia seek and
the level of interoperability required to ensure success in future
common missions.
As Supreme Commander of both KFOR and SFOR, it is with deep respect
that I express my gratitude for the many efforts by the Russian
Federation and its Armed Forces to preserve peace and stability in the
Balkans. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the men
and women of the Russian Armed Forces for their historic,
groundbreaking service in the Balkans. I can assure you that the
sacrifices and service you rendered, the esprit d'corps between NATO
and Russian military at all levels, and the important success of our
partnership in the Balkans over the past seven and one-half years will
not be forgotten. The member states of NATO and the men, women, and
children from these war-torn areas have a deep and abiding gratitude
for the service rendered by the representatives of the Armed Forces of
the Russian Federation. At the same time, I would like to express my
gratitude to the families of Russia's servicemen, who endured long
absences and persevered through many difficult times while their
family member served abroad in the Balkans. Your silent sacrifices and
support have also been a vital part of our overall success.
We face together not only 21st century security challenges, but the
challenge of answering to future generations for how we fulfilled the
obligation of building a new relationship, a new Europe. History will
show that NATO-Russia military cooperation ended civil war in the
Balkans, and sparked the development of a new, broader, special
partnership in Europe. Our continued efforts along this path will
ensure that these sacrifices and efforts are not lost or forgotten and
will prepare us fully for the times ahead.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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