Will the
latest attempt to build stronger Russia-NATO ties now taking place in Lisbon bear
fruit? According to this analysis from China's state-run Xinhua, the
long-standing causes of friction between the two sides are unlikely to be resolved
anytime soon.
MOSCOW: On Friday and
Saturday, NATO leaders met in Lisbon and adopted a new Strategic
Concept to serve as the Alliance's roadmap for the next 10 years.
The Concept expresses the willingness
on the part of NATO leaders to build a genuine "strategic partnership"
with Russia. But given the political divergences and long-time suspicion
between NATO and Russia, analysts say that this would be a hard goal to obtain
in short-term.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Since the end of the Cold War,
"partnership" has been frequently mentioned in connection with NATO-Russia
ties. From the "start of a new age of partnership and cooperation," declared
in 1992 by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and former NATO Secretary General Manfred
Werner, to the various types of cooperative systems introduced by NATO and
Russia at various times, the two sides tried time and again to foster of new type
of relationship.
But all of these efforts have
failed to withstand testing, such as NATO's eastward enlargement. In 2008, Russia-NATO
ties soured again due to Moscow's brief war with Tbilisi.
Then in 2009, with a "reset"
in relations between Russia and the United States and an improvement in Russian
ties with Europe, NATO-Russia cooperation began to rebound.
Earlier this month, NATO's
current secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, paid a one-day visit to
Moscow, where he stressed that the West sees Russia as a partner of strategic
importance - not an enemy.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
In recent days during the
Lisbon Summit, Russia accepted NATO's invitation to join in the creation of a
missile defense shield for Europe, and President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia is
ready to work with NATO to monitor nuclear programs in other nations.
In certain fields where the
two sides have common interests, experts note that Russia and the Atlantic bloc
have been prepared to cooperate. In fighting terrorism, preventing the spread
of weapons of mass destructive, enhancing energy security, the Iranian nuclear
problem and Afghanistan, NATO needs the support and assistance of Russia.
There is much potential for
more intense NATO-Russia cooperation, but analysts warn that partners with such
a long history of mistrust cannot so easily transform into a loving couple.
While Fogh Rasmussen repeatedly
said that NATO didn't want to impose a specific missile defense architecture on
Russia, he reiterated the Alliance's readiness to admit Georgia, which is
highly sensitive to the Kremlin. The NATO chief also reiterated Georgian
sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling it a main area of dispute
between the Alliance and Russia.
Moscow-based defense analyst
Pavel Felgengauer told Xinhua that up to now, although neither Russia
nor NATO wants confrontation, neither has found a format for coexistence.
Meanwhile, long-term issues of dispute between the two remain unresolved.
According to Felgengauer, there's a long road ahead before the two sides are
able to overcome their long-standing differences.
