NATO SECRETARY GENERAL’S WELCOME MESSAGE

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the offcial website of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC).

As we prepare to celebrate ten years of NATO-Russia partnership, this is a good time to reflect upon how far we have come together, from a security environment in which we saw each other as potential adversaries to one in which we look increasingly for common solutions to shared risks and threats. This site will contribute to that process, by providing you with information on the structures, achievements and goals of the NATO-Russia Council.

Over the past ten years, Russia and the Atlantic Alliance have faced no shortage of challenges – from the struggle against terrorism, through the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to the international effort to build stability and prosperity in and around Afghanistan. Too often, however, we have looked at these challenges through the lens of the past, and allowed outdated stereotypes to stand in the way of genuine cooperation.

Throughout this decade, and particularly in the five years since the creation of the NATO-Russia Council, we have worked to overcome these stereotypes and develop both the tools and the political will to adress new challenges together. This process has often been difficult. But it is absolutely essential to the security and well-being of our peoples. For there is no way that Russia and the member states of NATO can cope with today’s security environment without drawing on each other’s capabilities, experience and perspectives.

This website highlights some of the most significant milestones in our ten-year journey together: increased interoperability among our military forces, which allows Russia to contribute to NATO’s anti-terrorist naval patrols in the Mediterranean Sea; a comprehensive NATO-Russia Action Plan on Terrorism, which guides our cooperation in preventing, combating and responding to terrorist attacks; ambitious programmes of technical cooperation in airspace management and theatre missile defence; and a pathbreaking NATO-Russia programme to build counter-narcotics capabilities in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

We have achieved a lot together, and we have much to be proud of. But as we approach this landmark 10th anniversary in the NATO-Russia partnership, I believe we should set our sights even higher. Our cooperation offers much more potential. Now is the time to unlock it!

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General
Chairman of the NATO- Russia Council