#11
NATO Secretary General Interviewed on Russian-NATO Relations
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
24 November 2001
[translation for personal use only]
Interview with George Robertson by Vladimir Bogdanov: "Does a Plant Have to Be Ripped Out to Examine Its Roots? -- NATO Secretary General George Robertson Answers Questions From Our Correspondent"

[Bogdanov] Mr. Robertson, do you think Russia is seeking to join NATO, or is that the wish of the leadership of the North Atlantic bloc?

[Robertson] We aren't talking at all today about Russia's joining NATO. President Putin made it unequivocally clear to me at the meeting in Brussels that Russia does not intend to wait in line and submit an application to NATO.

There is only one way to join. An application must be submitted and NATO's military and civil standards must be adopted in one's own country. But this question is not on the agenda right now. Both President Putin and the leadership of the NATO countries agree that we are now living in an era of unprecedented cooperation between Russia and the West since the time of the joint battle against fascism 60 years ago.

In the past we were divided by fences, walls, ideologies and weapons. Today the threat to the Russian people is similar to the threats that the peoples of the NATO countries are dealing with. International terrorism has been transformed into global terrorism. Why should we solve these problems separately? International criminals have turned into global criminals. So there is no point in pretending that borders serve as a kind of insurance policy and can protect against international terrorism. So tanks and infantry units today no longer provide an absolute guarantee to any country against the infiltration of terrorists.

[Bogdanov] In this connection, perhaps, it makes sense to develop a new security system in the world that would replace NATO?

[Robertson] We are quite pleased with the existing security system. I have never believed that it was necessary to rip out some plant in order to periodically examine its roots.

I think we need to work in order to refine the existing mechanism by making it more valuable. We must recognize that we will either live and work together or we will perish separately.

At the press conference that G. Robertson held in Moscow on Thursday, he touched on other topics as well.

Answering a question about NATO's attitude toward the events in Chechnya, the secretary general declared that since the events of 11 September NATO has understood that Russia's warnings about the danger of terrorism were not unfounded, and now "looks with different eyes" at what is happening in Chechnya. "Russia's long-term objective is a peaceful, stable Chechen Republic as part of the Russian Federation, where citizens are under the protection of the Russian Constitution and which does not serve as a base for international terrorism. This objective is fully shared and supported by us," he noted.

The secretary general expressed confidence that Russia and NATO would triumph together in the struggle against global terrorism. "In the mountains of southern Afghanistan, in the alleys of Kandahar, Usama Bin Ladin will have to save himself by running. Throughout the world, from Chechnya to Iraq, from the Philippines to the Balkans, terrorists must know that no political or religious motives can justify murder of completely innocent civilians," he declared.

What would be in keeping with the new level of cooperation would Russia's participation "periodically and on specific issues" in meetings of the NATO Council, the secretary general believes. Such a forum could be called the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Assessing the work of the RF-NATO Permanent Joint Council, he declared that "this structure has had a certain amount of success in the past," although "some problems were never settled."

In his opinion, it is imperative to create a partnership formula "that would contain guarantees both from Russia and from the alliance." This new relationship "will not come by itself" and "will require a lot of effort." "The main thing is that we have a desire to listen and move forward," the secretary general noted.

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