09 December 2002
Build Common Security, Vershbow Urges Russia, NATO
(Dec. 6: U.S. Ambassador to Russia Vershbow in Moscow) (2025) Russia, Europe and the United States must not let the opportunity to intensify and broaden cooperation slip away, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow told a conference at the Institute for Applied International Research (IAIR) in Moscow December 6. "It is clear that we are now entering new territory. The signing of the Treaty of Moscow last May, Moscow's extraordinary co-operation with us in the war against global terror, and formation of the NATO-Russia Council are all tangible evidence of this fundamental fact," Vershbow said. "Our purpose is to build common security with Russia, and we must think creatively as we explore new questions... Should NATO and Russia, for instance, develop military capabilities to work together against terrorist threats? As NATO works on missile defense, should it develop a common missile defense system with Russia? Is there a role for Russia in conjunction with the new NATO Response Force?" Some of these issues will require Russia, NATO and the United States "to overcome old ways of thinking that have divided us in the past but that now must give way to the new realities that unite us," Vershbow said. "It is an opportunity we must not let slip through our hands." "I am greatly encouraged to see that the new NATO-Russia Council is proceeding with a new spirit of flexibility and compromise," he said, citing some examples of successful cooperation such as Russia's hosting of a joint civil emergency exercise in Noginsk, and a NATO-Russia framework agreement on search-and-rescue at sea. As for NATO enlargement, he said, "stable countries on Russia's borders will better enable Russia to meet the real threats to its security that emanate from other directions." Vershbow said that "proof of the new cooperation possible today between Russia and NATO was provided by the statements concerning Iraq issued by NATO, on the one hand, and by the United States and Russia jointly, on the other" during the recent Prague Summit. "We have spoken in unison with a message to Saddam Hussein that the will of the United Nations must be respected and that we will stand together until we ensure that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction in its possession." He concluded his remarks by expressing confidence in the future of a Russia-NATO alliance based on a common belief in democracy, respect for human rights, and economic freedom. "For when President Bush speaks of 'a Europe that is whole, free and at peace for the first time in history,' he is referring to a Europe that must include a stable, democratic and prosperous Russian Federation," Vershbow said. Following are his remarks, as provided by the U.S. Embassy Moscow: (begin text) Remarks by Alexander Vershbow U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation at the Institute for Applied International Research Conference "Russia and NATO: Prospects for Cooperation" December 6, 2002 Hotel Metropol, Moscow Good afternoon. I'd first like to thank Vadim Razumovskiy and the Institute for Applied International Research for allowing me to speak to you, even though I wasn't part of the original program. Such uninvited guests are sometimes referred to as "gate crashers" in English. But I was so impressed with the Institute's first conference at which I spoke last May that I couldn't resist the opportunity for an encore appearance today. The institute's inaugural conference was held just a few days before President Bush's visit to Russia in May - your conference this time comes just two weeks after our two presidents' most recent meeting in St. Petersburg following the NATO Summit in Prague. With such wonderful timing, I'm starting to think that your conference organizers must have some sort of direct line to the Kremlin and the White House. Perhaps the Institute is already organizing another conference for next May when the leaders of the G-8 countries will assemble in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, I cannot yet predict when President Bush will return to Russia after that, but perhaps he can plan it around another IAIR conference. In any event, what the frequency and significance of visits by President Bush and other world leaders to Russia do demonstrate - more eloquently than any declarations - is the central role that this country plays in the current 21st century geopolitical environment - a world very different from the one that existed for most of the second half of the 20th century. We no longer live in a Cold War world divided by East-West conflict and outdated ideological disputes about communism and capitalism. That model has been relegated to the dustbin of history. Instead, we see a new constellation of powers, and dangers, in today's world. Russia, the United States, NATO and other friends and allies are in agreement that the most serious threats we face today are terrorism and the possession of weapons of mass destruction by outlaw states. We watched the attacks of September 11, or the one in Bali, or the recent hostage crisis in Moscow unfold before our eyes on the television screens, and we mourned the tragic losses. Imagine the destruction, however, if indeed terrorists some day get their hands on a weapon of mass destruction. In an international and multilateral context, with these threats in mind, we can best examine the development of an enlarged North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the expanding significance of the NATO-Russia Council. At the Prague Summit two weeks ago, the media and the public paid the most attention to the invitations extended to seven European democracies to join the Alliance. The declaration issued at Prague by the heads of state of NATO member countries, however, gave far more emphasis to the urgent need for the entire Alliance to launch a wholesale transformation to prepare for the challenges of the 21st century. The declaration makes clear the need for NATO to adapt to a new era of nuclear, biological and chemical threats and potential terrorist attacks. The declaration calls for creation of a NATO Response Force (NRF), the streamlining of military command and control structures, and adoption of a range of measures to improve defenses against various terrorist threats. The commitment by NATO categorically to reject and condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and to develop multifaceted and comprehensive responses to terrorism will, no doubt, define much of the work ahead for the NATO-Russia Council, which has gotten off to a good start since its inception last May. I am greatly encouraged to see that the new NATO-Russia Council is proceeding with a new spirit of flexibility and compromise. The Council, like NATO itself, must rely on the same principles of consensus, consultation and cooperation that have evolved among the NATO Allies over the past five decades. Russia's voice is being heard in deliberations as an equal member as the Council examines and debates critical issues. But the Council is not a debate club - its success will be determined by its activities and actions. In September, for instance, Russia hosted a joint civil emergency exercise in Noginsk, where 30 countries co-operated to respond to a mock terrorist attack using chemical weapons - unfortunately, an all-too-real threat in today's world. This exercise yielded valuable lessons on how we can help save innocent lives through unprecedented cooperation by first responders from all over Europe. What else have NATO and Russia been doing together? Military authorities have completed joint assessments of the threat posed by Al Qaeda to our troops in the Balkans and to civil aviation. In the hope of avoiding future submarine disasters, such as the Kursk tragedy, NATO and Russia have successfully put together a framework agreement on cooperation in search-and-rescue at sea. We expect the agreement to be signed next month. We have developed an outline for a thorough assessment of the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This assessment will become the basis for cooperation to stem the spread of these dangerous weapons. These are a few of the productive results of our collaboration in the few short months since May. NATO and Russia are now investigating how we can work together on peacekeeping and integrated training of our military forces. All of this is an impressive agenda of joint action that will bring us closer together and increase our common security: that of Europe, of the United States, and of Russia. It is clear that we are now entering new territory. The signing of the Treaty of Moscow last May, Moscow's extraordinary co-operation with us in the war against global terror, and formation of the NATO-Russia Council are all tangible evidence of this fundamental fact. Our purpose is to build common security with Russia, and we must think creatively as we explore new questions that need to be raised. Should NATO and Russia, for instance, develop military capabilities to work together against terrorist threats? As NATO works on missile defense, should it develop a common missile defense system with Russia? Is there a role for Russia in conjunction with the new NATO Response Force, which in turn would provide a stimulus for reform of the Russian defense forces? In some cases we will no doubt have to overcome old ways of thinking that have divided us in the past but that now must give way to the new realities that unite us. It is an opportunity we must not let slip through our hands. The Allies at the Prague Summit specifically cited the NATO-Russia Council's achievements as significant and pledged to intensify and broaden cooperation with Russia in order to achieve our shared goal of a secure, stable and peaceful Europe. Enlargement of NATO is aimed at this same goal. As National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said after the Prague Summit, NATO membership for Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia will help strengthen and solidify democracy in those countries and "to have stable democracies at the door of Russia . . . can only be for the good." Stable countries on Russia's borders will better enable Russia to meet the real threats to its security that emanate from other directions. And when President Bush traveled to St. Petersburg immediately from Prague, he made clear that Russia is NATO's partner and friend, and that the new members of the Alliance are pledged to peace and freedom. Dramatic proof of the new cooperation possible today between Russia and NATO was provided by the statements concerning Iraq issued by NATO, on the one hand, and by the United States and Russia jointly, on the other. We have spoken in unison with a message to Saddam Hussein that the will of the United Nations must be respected and that we will stand together until we ensure that Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction in its possession. Six months ago when I spoke to the Institute, I said that we were witnessing a period of transition when economic and other non-strategic issues would assume a greater importance in U.S.-Russian relations. The importance of these relations has been evident during recent months as I've traveled to conferences in Anchorage, Alaska; Houston, Texas; and my home city of Boston, Massachusetts. In Alaska economic ties between the U.S. West Coast and the Russian Far East were discussed; in Texas, the importance of cooperation in the field of energy; and in Boston, the new opportunities for increased U.S. investment in Russia. Our economic co-operation has the potential to take on a strategic dimension that will serve both our interests. These kinds of broad-based relations that serve our mutual interests, I believe, help Russia accept our assurances that NATO can be its partner. Not just against the terrible scourge of terrorism that has caused so much loss of life in Russia, the United States and elsewhere over the past months and years, but also to advance the common principles that we share. Ultimately our partnership must rise or fall based on the values that we espouse in common - democracy, respect for human rights, and economic freedom. And that is why I believe in the future of a Russia-NATO alliance. For when President Bush speaks of "a Europe that is whole, free and at peace for the first time in history," he is referring to a Europe that must include a stable, democratic and prosperous Russian Federation. Thank you very much. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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