Unofficial translation from Russian

STATEMENT BY ALEXANDER YAKOVENKO, THE SPOKESMAN OF RUSSIA'S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Concerning the NATO Expansion

Today, on March 29th, one more (sixth) round of NATO expansion is being finished with a top-level ceremony in Washington. Seven countries are joining the Alliance: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia.

The NATO expansion undoubtedly affects the political, military and, to a certain extent, economic interests of Russia. This compels us to take it most seriously.

The present round of expansion is characterized by the fact that the Baltic states are joining NATO in the conditions of the unsettledness of a whole set of problems still lingering in their relations with Russia. Within the Baltic states and Slovenia treaty restrictions on conventional arms do not operate, because these countries are not parties to the CFE Treaty. In Latvia and Estonia there persists an acute situation in connection with discrimination against the Russian-speaking population. In the context of the functioning of the Kaliningrad Region problems remain unregulated in the legalization of military transit through Lithuania on a treaty basis.

We are not denying that serious transformation has been occurring in NATO recently; the number of troops and the amount of arms, including heavy weapons, are being reduced, and reliance upon nuclear weapons is lessening. A policy is proclaimed of regearing the Alliance to fight against new threats and challenges, such as local crises, terrorism, and WMD proliferation. On the other hand, our analysis shows that this restructuring is slow, at times inconsistent, with the retention for NATO military structures of the range of tasks which they used to perform in the years of the Cold War. In admitting the Baltic states and arranging guarantees for their security, many in NATO apparently proceeded from previous perceptions that a war is possible in Europe. Only such logic explains the inclusion of the Baltic states in the integrated air defense system of the Alliance, the recent flights of AWACS planes, and the construction of new military infrastructure facilities near our borders.

A similar picture is in the south, where there are already plans to reinforce the NATO infrastructure in Bulgaria and Romania.

All of this corresponds little to realistic assessments of the military situation, and most importantly - to the spirit and the guidelines of Russia's current partnership with NATO after the Rome Summit, aimed at the consolidation of stability and enhancement of predictability. Neither do such actions increase mutual trust.

We shall continue our multivector political work in order to create a European security arrangement in which the interests of each state would be taken into account and reliably ensured. We are going to seek the speediest accession of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Slovenia to the adapted CFE Treaty. We see no alternative to its enactment. But the most important thing that can improve the condition of European security is a radical change of the very nature of NATO and the consistent implementation of the agreements on the new quality of relations between Russia and NATO, including the joint struggle against the new really existing threats and challenges.

March 29, 2004