17 December 1997
(PJC will dissolve the "mutual suspicions of the past") (1050) Brussels -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council meeting in Brussels December 17, "We are here in this Council to build a reservoir of practical, day-to-day cooperation between NATO and Russia into which the mutual suspicions of the past will dissolve." Albright said that NATO-Russian cooperation is "on track." She listed those issues on which Russia and NATO are in agreement, including on military-to-military cooperation, seeing that "war is finally and forever banished from the European continent," and strengthening the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] to work toward that end. On security, Albright declared, "I trust we also agree that the gravest potential threat to our security in the next century may come from beyond Europe, from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In this respect, few nations are in a position of greater peril than Russia. And no nation is a source of greater danger than Iraq." Following is the text of the secretary's statement as prepared for delivery: (Begin text) U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman (Brussels, Belgium) STATEMENT BY SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT AT THE NATO-RUSSIA PERMANENT JOINT COUNCIL MEETING NATO Headquarters Belgium, Brussels December 17, 1997 Secretary-General Solana, Foreign Minister Primakov, Foreign Minister Axworthy. I'm very pleased to join you today. This is the first meeting of our Council to be held in Brussels, where it will routinely be held every December as long as this partnership thrives -- and that will be a very long time. Already, we should be able to look around this room and say that there is no longer anything remarkable in the fact we are meeting together. For we already know each other well. We have already built a solid record of cooperation. And we have already begun to look upon our continuing dialogue as a matter of course. Soon we'll be deep in our discussion of work groups and work plans, partnership cells and partnership councils, CJTFs [Combined Joint Task Force] and ESDIs [European Security and Defense Identity). Evgenyi, I hate to be the one to break the news; you may never have dreamed it would come to this. But you're just going to have to learn to speak NATOese. If I can do it, so can you. Of course, I say that partly in the hope it will advance the overarching strategic objective that I outlined at our first ministerial meeting -- that Russia should ultimately become bored with NATO. In this, too, we are striving to keep our promises. The truth is, the partnership we envisioned when we signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act is very much on course. We have launched our consultations on military-to-military cooperation and agreed on a plan of action to improve our cooperation on peacekeeping. We have started detailed discussions on issues such as the destruction of chemical weapons and environmental clean-up. Russia has named a military representative to NATO and participated in 10 Partnership for Peace exercises this fall. And that is just a beginning. All of our progress is based on a shared understanding of our common interests. We agree that the NATO-Russia partnership should be developed further. In the coming year, we will establish the remaining cooperative mechanisms foreseen in the Founding Act, including liaison missions at our respective military headquarters and the NATO information center in Moscow. We agree that Russia and NATO should work together to see that war is finally and forever banished from the European continent. When this shared interest calls for joint action, we want Russia to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in NATO's Combined Joint Task Forces. We agree that our cooperation in SFOR [NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia] has achieved encouraging results, for the cause of partnership between NATO and Russia no less than for the cause of peace in Bosnia. As long as there is a need for an international military presence in Bosnia, we will need Russia to be a part of it. NATO will develop a range of options for a possible follow-on force in consultation with Russia and other partners. We also agree that Europe as a whole must continue to come together, that its integration should not be limited to those fortunate nations that have made the fastest progress toward free market democracy, and that to this end other institutions, especially the OSCE, need to be strengthened. The key is to support the OSCE's practical efforts to defeat the present dangers to freedom and peace in Europe -- including its efforts to defend human rights and democracy from Belarus to Bosnia. It is to continue the OSCE's transformation into an organization that produces not just reports, but results. I trust we also agree that the gravest potential threat to our security in the next century may come from beyond Europe, from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In this respect, few nations are in a position of greater peril than Russia. And no nation is a source of greater danger than Iraq. Ambassador Butler's latest trip to Baghdad demonstrated that UN inspectors still do not have complete, unimpeded, and unconditional access to many sites in Iraq. We must persist in diplomatic efforts to secure Iraqi compliance, without ruling out other options if diplomacy fails. Foreign Minister Primakov has played a vital role in this effort, and Russia's support will remain critical. Experience teaches us that Saddam Hussein will meet our demands only if we are united and firm. Of course, as we have often said, there are issues upon which we are not always going to agree, whether it comes to NATO enlargement or the best way to contain rogue states. We are not here to pretend, or to paper over our differences. We are here to work through them. We are here in this Council to build a reservoir of practical, day-to-day cooperation between NATO and Russia into which the mutual suspicions of the past will dissolve. I am dedicated to this goal, and I know my colleagues join me. Thank you. (End text)