Opening statement by the Secretary General Informal meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at the level of Foreign Ministers

Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon, dobriy dyen’, bonjour. And welcome to this informal meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.

La relation OTAN-Russie franchira cette année deux étapes importantes : le mois prochain marquera le dixième anniversaire de l’Acte fondateur OTAN-Russie et le cinquième anniversaire de l’instance au sein de laquelle nous siégeons aujourd’hui, le Conseil OTAN-Russie. Ces deux anniversaires sont l'occasion idéale de faire le bilan de nos réalisations et de fixer les priorités pour l'avenir.

Construire un véritable partenariat OTAN-Russie n’a jamais été une tâche facile.

Pourtant, au cours de la décennie écoulée, et en particulier durant ces cinq dernières années, nous avons accompli ensemble d’importants progrès dans le développement de notre coopération au service de notre sécurité commune.

Nos forces militaires ont servi côte à côte pour apporter la paix et la sécurité dans les Balkans. Nous avons fait un grand pas vers le renforcement de l’interopérabilité de nos forces armées. Nous avons vu la Russie mettre des navires à la disposition des patrouilles navales antiterroristes que mène l’Alliance en mer Méditerranée – première fois dans l’histoire qu’un État non membre de l’Alliance contribue à une opération relevant de l’article 5.

We have launched ambitious common projects to combat terrorism, to respond to civil emergencies, to manage our common airspace, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to enhance our ability to defend our deployed forces against ballistic missile attacks.

We have also broken new ground by working together to confront the threat posed by narcotics trafficking in and around Afghanistan, by offering our shared expertise in this area to Afghanistan and her Central Asian neighbours.

Ministers will also want to discuss today ways in which we can build on these successes. We should in particular have a close look at ideas for closer NATO-Russia cooperation in bringing long-term peace, stability and prosperity to Afghanistan.

Of course, difficult issues and divergences of views still lie ahead of us. But I see willingness for dialogue from all members around this table, including on the important topic of Arms Control, missile defence and the CFE Treaty.

Over the past year, we have indeed broadened the scope of our political dialogue, to include NATO’s transformation and enlargement, energy security, and a broad-based dialogue on missile defence.

Our on-going discussions on missile defence, which include discussions at the Ambassadorial level, as well as a NATO-Russia Council meeting on 19 April reinforced with senior officials from capitals, will now continue at the Ministerial level. This is a demonstration of the commitment of all of us to develop this issue with maximum openness and transparency.

I am confident that even on matters that appear difficult today, we will find significant scope for cooperation in the years to come.

With these brief introductory remarks, I would ask the members of the press to leave the room, so that we can begin our closed session.