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strana.ru
November 15, 2001
Vladimir Putin: Russia is Ready to Accept Rapprochement
with NATO with Regard to its Own Interests
"There is nothing new for us in the matter of rapprochement with the
Alliance": President Putin
By Dmitry Gornostayev
When asked about chances for a rapprochement between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the president never once mentioned in his reply even a hypothetical possibility of Russian accession. At the same time, he reminded his audience about Moscow's proposal to create a mechanism for cooperation that would enable Russia to participate in the decision-making process.
"There is nothing new for us in the matter of rapprochement with the Alliance," he said, reminding his audience that the Soviet government had officially applied for NATO membership in the mid-1950s. He gave the reasons why the leadership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had turned down the application: the totalitarian nature of the Soviet system and the problem of deployment of Soviet forces in Eastern European countries.
Certainly, none of these can be held against Russia today. "There is not a single reason why Russia and NATO should not pool their efforts today," stated Vladimir Putin. In his words, new threats are coming to the fore at the present time, which are a far cry from those that NATO was created to handle: not only the threat of terrorism, but also proliferation of mass destruction weapons. Today, all leaders of NATO countries admit that in opposing these concrete threats there is no better ally than Russia, he stressed.
To accept and effectively implement decisions regarding the new challenges and threats, it is necessary to create a mechanism enabling Russia and NATO to jointly participate in the preparation and implementation of those decisions, he said. He reminded his audience that Moscow and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were currently cooperating in the Permanent Joint Council, and stated Russia's readiness to expand that cooperation.
It will be recalled that the Russian president set out approximately the same ideas as he addressed the U.S. political and business elite at the Russian Federation Embassy in Washington the day before. He had come with similar considerations and proposals on numerous occasions previously, including during his meetings with his U.S. counterpart, George Bush. But neither NATO nor the U.S. demonstrated any desire to reciprocate or suggest new approaches.
This is probably the reason why we are now in a situation where both Russia and the Alliance make no statements about Russia's possible accession to NATO.
Aside from this formal consideration, there are much more profound reasons on both sides that hinder any talk of Russia becoming a NATO member. One of the principal reasons is the fact that the North Atlantic Alliance has no regard - nor is going to have any - for the Russian opinion on the crucial issue of European and world security, to wit, NATO expansion. But even under these circumstances Moscow is open for cooperation with the Alliance, something that Mr. Putin's Houston address demonstrated once again.
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