WELCOMING ADDRESS BY S.LAVROV TO VISITORS OF THE RUSSIA - NATO COUNCIL WEB SITE

Dear visitors of the Russia - NATO Council web site,

Today, due to Internet, many of us have an opportunity to get on-line information on the activities of various international bodies. The Russia -NATO Council - a unique mechanism of our cooperation - is also connected now to the Web. The web site of the Council is designed to provide unbiased information on the work of that body built on the principles of equality and due regard for interests of each other.

Relations between Russia and NATO are a subject which is of interest not only to experts in the field of international affairs but also to ordinary people who are largely ignorant of big policy games. It is not a coincidence as the way our ties evolve has a direct bearing on the most sensitive areas of security and, ultimately, on the interests of all people in the member countries of the Council.

Many people still remember the time when the Soviet Union and NATO viewed each other only through artillery eyepieces and field glasses, The record of relations between Russia and NATO is not a simple one as well, as we have not always found a common ground on security issues. But what is of principal importance is that we have come a long way from controversy and confrontation to dialogue and cooperation in the interests of predictability and stability in Europe.

Today, interaction between Russia and NATO embraces an intensive political dialogue on key security issues, including those on which we might differ, as well as the implementation of major concrete projects and programmes serving the interests of all member countries of the Russia - NATO Council. Priority areas of our cooperation include combating terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, settlement of regional crises, prevention of natural and man-made disasters and addressing other modern challenges to security.

In accordance with the 1997 Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security, Russia and NATO undertook to facilitate the understanding by the public of their evolving relations. And I hope that the web-site of the Russia - NATO Council will contribute to the achievement of that objective and will be of Interest and of use to its visitors.

S.LAVROV
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation