![]() |
| NATO, Russia Seek to Restore Ties: Analysis |
|
2008-12-20 14:42:19
Xinhua |
|
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met Russian envoy Dmitry Rogozin on Friday in an apparent effort to restore the frozen ties between the two sides since the Georgia crisis four months ago.
However, restoring trust could still prove difficult amid concerns over such thorny issues as Kosovo and the NATO anti-missile plan in eastern Europe.
RESUMED POLITICAL CONTACT
De Hoop Scheffer and Rogozin met in Brussels near the NATO headquarters, the first high-level contact between the two sides since a brief war in Georgia in August.
Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian ambassador to the alliance, said the two sides agreed to gradually normalize relations.
"We supported Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in his aspiration for opening up our negotiations, our dialogues and restoring our relations," Rogozin told reporters after the meeting.
"We need to take a close look at the ethics of our relations, and from there we need to understand that we need to apply a professional approach," he said.
"It is vital not to interrupt the dialogue," he added.
The NATO-Russia Council, a consultative panel set up in 2002 to improve ties between the former Cold War rivals, will hold an informal meeting at the ambassadorial level in January, according to NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero.
The efforts to restore relations between NATO and Russia did not come beyond expectation as both sides need to address issues in a pragmatic manner, analysts say.
For a start, EU members of NATO can not afford to sever ties with Russia, their key energy supplier.
Russia provides some 40 percent of EU's total gas and 25 percent of oil imports. The European energy reliance on Russia could become even stronger in the mid and long term, analysts say.
European nations, led by Germany, have taken a more moderate note when dealing with disputes with Russia compared with the United States.
Intensive trade cooperation has made it harder for the EU to trade fires with Russia. The 27-nation bloc is even considering establishing a free trade zone with Russia.
Moreover, NATO will need Russia's support on such key issues as Iran's nuclear program, the war in Afghanistan and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
And of course, a better relation with NATO will also serve Russia's strategic interests in the security, economic and social fields, analysts say.
LINGERING RIFTS
Still, restoring trust between the two sides could prove difficult due to the remaining thorny issues.
Rogozin compared his meeting with de Hoop Scheffer to knights clicking their cups to allow wine to spill over each other's cups to ensure that the wine is not poisoned.
"We are only at the beginning of our very difficult road toward restoring trust," said Rogozin.
"It is easy to break all the pots, but it is difficult to make them one piece again," he said.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the restoration of Russia-NATO relations should begin with a discussion of the causes of the five-day war between Russia and Georgia.
"We will insist that the resumption of ties starts with the discussion of the causes of the Caucasus crisis, which our NATO partners dodged in August," Lavrov told reporters after talks with his Bulgarian counterpart.
"We are ready for it (the restoration of relations). But it should take place on an equal basis," he said.
However, both NATO and Russia are not likely to make substantial concessions on the key issues that split the two sides far apart.
Russia, which has unilaterally recognized the independence of Georgia's two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is not planning to pull its military employment back to the position prior to the conflict as requested by Western nations.
The NATO chief has said that the alliance's decision to resume contact with Russia did not mean it would resume business as usual with Russia, nor that NATO suddenly agreed to Russia's position over Georgia.
And the issue of Kosovo and the NATO anti-missile defense plan in eastern Europe are threatening to further strain ties between the two sides.
In an effort to thaw out the standoff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed a new European security mechanism, only to receive lukewarm response from NATO.
De Hoop Scheffer said earlier this month that NATO believed that the currently sound European security framework should not be changed.
The latest move to resume high-level contact between the two sides is more of a political gesture that falls short of significant compromises, which are key to restoring relations, analysts say.
NATO foreign ministers decided to suspend high-level contacts with Russia in August, accusing Russia of "disproportionate use of force" in Georgia. In response, Russia halted cooperation with NATO's Moscow office and called off the NATO chief's visit to Moscow.
In early December, the ministers authorized de Hoop Scheffer to gradually resume political contacts with Moscow.
|
|
![]() |
|
|
![]()
|
|
Recommend |
|
![]() |
 |
CRIENGLISH.com claims the copyright of all material and information produced
originally by our staff. All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial
purposes only is permitted provided that both the source and author are
acknowledged and a notifying email
is sent to us.
CRIENGLISH.com holds neither liability nor responsibility for materials
attributed to any other source. Such information is provided as reportage
and dissemination of information but does not necessarily reflect the opinion
of or endorsement by CRI.
|
|
|
![]() |
| Also
on our site |
|
| China | World |
![]() |
|
| Business | Sports | SciTech |
![]() |
|
| Life | Showbiz |
![]() |
|
Webcast  |
![]() |
|
|
|
|
|
![]() |
About Us 
