Transcript of Opening Statement and Response to Media Questions by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov at Press Conference Following Informal Russia-NATO Council Meeting at Level of Foreign Ministers on Corfu, June 27, 2009

Foreign Minister Lavrov: A ministerial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council has taken place. There had been no meetings at this level for a long time, and relations in this format had taken a complicated turn after August 2008 when our proposal at the height of the Caucasus crisis to urgently call the Council was not backed by our partners in this structure for reasons incomprehensible to us. We deemed wrong this kind of approach when the RNC, largely established to examine crisis situations, had distanced itself from the present crisis.

Today at the first RNC meeting of foreign ministers after a long time (it was informal, and this made sense), a detailed and frank conversation took place. I want to say at once that the question at center stage in the discussion was how we were to work further and whether we could return to the origins, to the principles laid down in the Rome Declaration, approved at the small town of Pratica di Mare near Rome in the framework of the summit of the Russia-NATO Council, during which the Council was approved. They are the principles of the indivisibility of security and the inadmissibility of securing oneself at others' expense.

Very important was the presence of President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, who had decided to personally attend this event. He bluntly stressed that as initiator of the creation of the RNC he felt concerned about its fate and convinced of the necessity to return to the same principles on which the Council was founded.

I think that the considerations set forth by us about ways to not only reaffirm these principles but translate them into a legally binding form, particularly by considering the initiative of Russian President Medvedev to craft a new European Security Treaty, were heard. A number of delegations reiterated the interest in engaging in their substantive consideration also in the RNC format along with the discussions that have already begun in the OSCE, in our relations with the EU and in the political science community.

We discussed a number of concrete aspects characterizing problems in the contemporary security architecture in Europe, including arms control, the deadlock in the implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and the post-2008 crisis situation in Transcaucasia.

I can say that on Transcaucasia issues our positions still diverge with most NATO member countries. Everyone probably needs to recognize the new realities. Our decisions, taken after the war unleashed by Tbilisi, are irreversible, and they have to be heeded in practical affairs. Further, as our representatives have said more than once, Russia is interested in seeing international observers work in Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia besides the EU Observation Mission, in having observers from the UN and from the OSCE there. In both the UNSC and the OSCE Permanent Council there are our proposals on how to make that work of international observers possible without trying to intrude into matters pertaining to status of these territories, but with primary focus on the necessity of stabilizing the situation. Of course, international observers are in a position to exert such influence.

Many words were said about the importance of restoring trust, which we are 100 percent for and urge ourselves. It is important that these words not remain mere words, but be translated into the language of practical deeds. We submitted a number of proposals to our partners on how this could be done. They concern, among other things, resuming military cooperation and comparing Russia and NATO's respective security strategies in the works. We expect the partners to work through these proposals and that their examination will continue within the RNC in Brussels, at ambassadorial and expert level, so as to arrive at a practical agreement.

Overall, the meeting was useful. I believe if we all follow the initially agreed principles for the RNC's work, we will be able to overcome the problems that have arisen in its activity recently.

Question: Was the possibility of participation by the Black Sea Fleet in NATO's antiterrorist exercise discussed? And has the Alliance drawn the right conclusions after the situation of August 2008?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: I have not heard of an exercise in the Black Sea that is being conducted by NATO and in which the Russian Black Sea Fleet is going to participate. A common interest in resuming military contacts was in principle expressed today. I think this is a matter of the relevant NATO and Russian structures: the defense ministries and general staffs must seek areas where that cooperation is now realistic.

As to whether our partners have drawn the right conclusions from the August 2008 crisis, I have already said we did not hear any change in the position of most NATO members. And I honestly drew our colleagues' attention to the fact that when we communicate in a bilateral format they all express views that attest to what conclusions they have drawn. And these conclusions, in our judgment, are correct. But in a wider composition, in multilateral formats assessments of a different sort are being heard. This is probably due to different genres of communication.

Question: The NATO Secretary General referred to a possible transportation of nonmilitary cargo from the territory of Russia to Afghanistan. Was this question discussed at the meeting?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: This question was not discussed today but commented on, since it has long since been resolved. In April 2008, an agreement was concluded between Russia and NATO on the transit of nonmilitary cargo through Russian territory for the needs of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and it is already being implemented. Our American and German partners have already used this transit route. This accord on nonmilitary transit of NATO as an organization supplements the agreement existing for several years now with Germany and France and since recently with Spain on the military air transit of cargo for the purposes of the stabilization force operating in Afghanistan under a UN mandate.

Question: Today, the RNC resumed work, suspended because of the war in Georgia. When does Russia intend to resume relations with Georgia?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: The answer is very simple. Russia did not sever relations with Georgia. It was Georgia that severed relations with Russia. So this question is not to me.

Question: How is the situation evolving around the Russia-NATO dialogue on missile defense?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: Today this question was discussed. Within the RNC, we have long since had a collective theater missile defense project, and it is sufficiently deeply worked through. Actually everything is ready as far as the accords on paper are concerned. And it would have been possible to embark on further steps. But right then the plan to deploy a US third GMD site emerged, which began to be discussed also in the context of fine-adjusting a MD effort within NATO to it. This naturally prompted us to state that if what NATO is doing in this field is tied to the third-site plans, which we do not agree with, then the joint work in the RNC on TMD makes no sense anymore.

We have received with satisfaction the decision of President Obama's administration to suspend these plans and to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the situation with regard for all factors, among them alternative proposals for ensuring security against possible missile threats, including the Russian proposals. We are engaged in dialogue with our American partners on this theme and I hope that it will lead to an agreement enabling Russia, the US and the Europeans to jointly analyze missile threats and prepare for warding them off.

Question: If the sides, one may say, have "agreed to disagree" on such important issues as the events in Georgia and the CFE Treaty, have these themes been postponed to a future date or will they yet be periodically returned to?

Foreign Minister Lavrov: As regards the situation surrounding Georgia, we have already said everything. In our bilateral contacts with the partners, as I already noted, an overwhelming majority of them express a full understanding of what happened and that this is irreversible. In multilateral formats a concerted position, apparently coordinated in some quarters, is being presented. Some time must pass before we concern ourselves not with the next virtual geopolitical projects, but concentrate on practical tasks the solution of which is important for ensuring that there is stability in Transcaucasia and the people there can live normally.

As regards the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, I wouldn't say that this is a dead-end theme. There continue efforts, which we welcome, aimed at resuming the quest for a way out of the impasse. On June 10 this year, experts met in Germany to discuss this problem. Not so long ago, in May 2009, the Russian side had submitted a renewed package of proposals which will help move the problem off dead center. And the reaction to these proposals from a whole array of countries playing an important role in this process encourages us. So the discussion is continuing. Everyone understands that arms control is extremely important; it's only necessary to stop linking adapted-CFE issues to other themes having no bearing on the Treaty itself. I think that we will continue the joint work, and it does have prospects.

June 29, 2009