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21 November 2002

Fact Sheet Outlines NATO-Russia Relations

(Issued at the NATO summit in Prague) (290)
Following is a White House fact sheet on the NATO-Russia new strategic
relationship, released November 21 during the NATO summit in Prague,
Czech Republic.
(begin fact sheet)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Prague, Czech Republic)
November 21, 2002
FACT SHEET
NATO-Russia Relations
At their Rome Summit in May 2002, NATO and Russia created the
NATO-Russia Council (NRC) as a major instrument of an emerging, new
strategic relationship. The events of September 11, 2001, have alerted
NATO and Russia to the new threats of the 21st Century, challenges we
should face together. In the NRC, Allies and Russia can work as
partners for consensus-building, consultations, joint decisions, and
joint actions.
At the Rome Summit, the 20 leaders approved a workplan for the NRC, a
set of initiatives in areas including counter-terrorism, civil
emergency planning, crisis management, and non-proliferation. The work
of the NRC is centered on specific, practical projects where
NATO-Russia cooperation can make a real contribution to our common
security. The NRC is designed to be a mechanism for action.
Some of the projects undertaken or underway in the NRC include:
-- a completed large-scale civil-emergency planning exercise (850
participants from 30 countries) in Noginsk, Russia. The NRC is
currently studying lessons learned;
-- assessments of terrorist threats to the Euro-Atlantic Area,
including al-Qaida, and the threat of chemical and biological weapons
from non-state actors;
-- experts meetings on the role of the military in combating
terrorism;
-- defining concepts for theater missile defense, including the
potential for collaborative work on TMD systems;
-- nuclear experts consultations;
-- a defense reform seminar to assist new democracies in managing
their transitions;
-- practical cooperation in logistics, air transport, and air-to-air
refueling (an area of Russian expertise and NATO shortfalls in
capability);
-- joint training and exercises focusing on the areas of peacekeeping
and force protection;
-- cooperative airspace management.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)