NATO prepares to reach out to Russia

REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- When Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov meets his NATO counterparts to seal an accord that aims to take cooperation between the former foes to a new level, the venue could hardly be more symbolic.

Sixteen years ago, a summit in Iceland's capital between then-President Reagan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev produced little more than a continuation of the Cold War stalemate over arms control.

If all goes according to plan, Tuesday's meeting here will show how far relations have come by creating a new body where Russia sits alongside the 19 NATO allies to plan common policy against terrorism, the spread of nuclear weapons and other global security threats.

Atmospherics at the session should be greatly helped by President Bush's announcement Monday that Washington and Moscow had reached agreement on big cuts in nuclear warheads.

A treaty outlining the agreement will be signed at a U.S.-Russia summit later this month.

NATO Secretary-General George Robertson says the "quantum leap" forward in cooperation was inspired by the perception that, since Sept. 11, Russia and the western allies face a common menace from international terrorism, as they once did against Nazi Germany.

Change in attitudes

"Sept. 11 proved an extraordinary catalyst. For the first time since 1945, it focused attention here in Europe and in Moscow on what we have in common," Lord Robertson said in a recent speech.

"It led, not to a temporary thaw, but to a real sea change in attitudes on both sides."

The first meeting of the new NATO-Russia Council is set for May 28 when President Vladimir Putin joins NATO leaders for a summit meeting at an Italian air base outside Rome.

The NATO decision to reach out to Russia is a recognition of Putin's help since the attacks on New York on Washington, which has included political and diplomatic support, shared intelligence and approving American use of bases in former Soviet Central Asia.

Under the new arrangement, Russia will sit as an equal partner at NATO meetings where the alliance discusses a range of issues, including counterterrorism, arms proliferation, missile defense, peacekeeping, management of regional crises and arms control.

"It's a qualitatively new level of cooperation," Ivanov said recently.

"If this works -- and we want it to work -- it could become an important element in building a new European security architecture."

Skeptics however will point to an earlier new dawn in NATO-Russia relations five years ago when a beaming Boris Yelstin embraced then-President Clinton in Paris and signed the NATO-Russia cooperation and security agreement.

Kosovo roadblock

That agreement set up a council where the two sides could consult on matters of mutual interest, but by 1999 it was in tatters as Russia curtailed contacts in protest over NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia.

After the Kosovo war, relations gradually improved, but Moscow has continued to complain that it is simply informed of NATO decisions rather than helping to formulate policies.

On paper, the new agreement changes that, but while it may create the foundation for a new partnership, analysts stress good will is needed from both sides to make it work in practice.