31 December 2002 00:00
RUSSIAN STATE DUMA STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION CONCERNING NATO EXPANSION (SUBMITTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, AND ADOPTED WITH REGARD TO VIKTOR ALKSNIS' AMENDMENTS ON DECEMBER 24, 2002 (289 IN FAVOR))
The State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation notes that at the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the city of Prague on November 21, 2002, a decision was adopted to expand this military-political alliance. Seven Central and Eastern European states have been invited to enter it - Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Estonia. The procedure for entry of the new members has to be concluded by a NATO summit in May 2004.
NATO expansion will substantially change the security situation in Europe. While recognizing the sovereign right of any independent state to enter military-political alliances independently, the State Duma holds that NATO's quantitative expansion will not solve the many problems that face the states of Europe and the chief of which today is the threat of international terrorism, and will not aid in bolstering the security of either the bloc itself or the countries which have expressed a wish to be members of this alliance.
At the same time the State Duma takes note of the statement of the heads of the NATO member states on their intention to transform the bloc with a view to fighting more effectively the new threats, above all international terrorism. In this connection the further development of relations between the Russian Federation and NATO has to be based on due consideration of the concrete steps of the North Atlantic Alliance in adapting its political and military structures to the new strategic realities both in Europe and in the world as a whole.
The State Duma also takes into account the statement of the heads of the NATO member states about their adherence to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty). At the same time it causes concern that as a result of the entry into NATO of Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Estonia which are not parties to the CFE Treaty a "gray zone" will arise in the European space in which there will be no restrictions on the deployment of the armed forces of NATO. The prompt accession to the Agreement on Adaptation of the CFE Treaty of NATO's new member states is a point of principle.
Considering that a part of these states have already expressed a wish to join the adapted CFE Treaty after its entry into force, the State Duma expresses concern at the unconstructive position of certain NATO member states, especially the United States of America and Turkey, artificially delaying the ratification and entry into force of this major document.
Deputies of the State Duma believe that cooperation by the Russian Federation with the North Atlantic Alliance may be accomplished more effectively on the basis of a concurrence of security interests with the NATO member states within the framework of flexible political coalitions for solving concrete tasks. Acknowledging the importance of continued cooperation within the Russia-NATO Council, the deputies of the State Duma note the first practical results of such cooperation, including the preparation of draft documents on the questions of peacekeeping activity, the rescue of the crews of submarines in distress, and others.
The State Duma presumes that NATO expansion presupposes the responsibility of the alliance's leadership for the development of constructive relations between the Russian Federation and the Baltic states entering the alliance, and will also help to stop the violation of the rights of the persons who live in Latvia and whose native language is Russian.
The State Duma calls upon the NATO member states to so carry out the alliance's transformation declared at the Prague summit as to contribute to the bolstering of international stability and security.
___________________________________________________________
© Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
| 
RUSSIA IN FACTS