RESOLUTION371 on THE FUTURE OF NATO-RUSSIA RELATIONS

The Assembly,

1.       Stressing the positive impact of NATO’s continuing “Open Door” policy and partnerships;

2.      Acknowledging the achievements of the NATO-Russia Partnership;

3.      Recognising that Russia plays an important part in enhancing Euro‑Atlantic and global security;

4.      Gravely concerned by Russia ’s disproportionate use of force in Georgia in August 2008 and the failure to comply swiftly with ceasefire agreements;

5.      Rejecting the vote of the Russian Parliament to dismember a sovereign UN Member State; 

6.      Convinced that the establishment of good relations between Russia and its neighbours is essential for regional and European security and stability;

7.      Stressing that the Allies and Russia share a number of security concerns, including the threat posed by terrorist groups, the continuing instability of Afghanistan, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes;

8.     Confident that close NATO-Russia co-operation can substantially contribute to a stable and secure Europe ;

9.      Concerned that energy resources be used as a political weapon against neighbours;

10.    Convinced that the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) remain cornerstones of Euro-Atlantic security, and regretting that Russia has announced a suspension of its obligations concerning the CFE Treaty and is considering breaking out of the 1987 INF Treaty;

11.     URGES the government and the parliament of Russia :

a.      to conduct Russia’s foreign affairs, particularly its relations with former Soviet Republics, in a manner that abides by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Statute of the Council of Europe, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the 1990 Paris Charter, and the 1999 Istanbul Charter for European Security,namely:

i.       sovereign equality and respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty of other states, including their territorial integrity and the inviolability of their frontiers;

ii.       non-intervention in the internal affairs of another sovereign state;

iii.       refraining from the threat or use of force;

iv.      peaceful settlement of disputes;

v.       the principle "… that no state, group of states or organisation … can consider any part of the OSCE area as its sphere of influence” (1999 Istanbul Charter for European Security);

b.    to respect its commitments which were taken at the Istanbul OSCE Summit in 1999 and has to withdraw its illegal military presence from the Transdnestrian region of Moldova in the nearest future;

c.     to reaffirm Russia ’s commitments to partnership and co-operation with NATO and to support this with concrete action;

12.     URGES member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance:

a.       to re-establish wide-ranging co-operation with Russia in a number of areas, particularly in the military to-military sphere, while stressing that this partnership needs to rest upon common values, particularly respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the peaceful resolution of conflicts;

b.       to encourage the development of positive and constructive relations between Russia and its neighbouring countries;

c.       to improve and expand public diplomacy efforts with Russia;

d.       to strive to adopt a common approach to Russia;

e.       to recognise the importance of the NATO-Russia partnership in the Alliance ’s new Strategic Concept.