15 Oct. 2006

General Ray Henault, Chairman of the Military Committee visit to Moscow, 15-17 October 2006 Opinions 18/06/2004 - NATO Statement by the Secretary General on expansion of NATO’s operation in Afghanistan Good morning. Thank you for your interest in this visit, and in covering developments in Russia-NATO military relations. This is my first official visit to your country since becoming the Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee. Russians are well known for their hospitality and I must say that I, my wife and my staff have been very well received indeed. Let me start by remarking how pleased I am to be here, and for the frank, open and fruitful discussions that have marked my time here. I’ve met with several important military and political officials, including the Chief of Defence [General Baluyevsky], the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs [His Excellency Alexander Grushko], and the Chairman of the State Duma Defence Committee [retired General Zavarin]. All are strong supporters of deepening and enhancing our NATO – Russia military cooperation activities. It is clear that we share many common challenges and strategic priorities in today’s security environment, including the fight against terrorism, crisis management, theatre missile defence, and defence reform. Next year marks five years since the establishment of the NATO-Russia Council, and ten years since the signature of the Founding Act, It is clear to me that we have made impressive strides since those landmark events, and that the relationship between NATO and Russia is currently solid and progressive, but that more can and needs to be done. In our discussions, we reflected on the significant progress made to help our military forces work better together, including  in the fields of logistics, naval search and rescue, and theatre missile defence. We have achieved much in our historic program of cooperation against terrorism, which is on top of the list of the key areas for NATO-Russia cooperation. This includes such concrete initiatives as the recent Russian naval contribution to NATO’s maritime surveillance operation in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. We hope to see this practical example of interoperability continue beyond this year’s deployment. We welcomed the recent launch of the NATO-Russia Council Pilot Project on Counter-Narcotics Training for Afghan and Central Asian Personnel.  This initiative will undoubtedly be a valuable joint contribution to international efforts aimed at alleviating the opium trafficking from that country. We discussed practical cooperation in airspace management, where both sides are working together to share information and data from radars to foster cooperation and transparency in the surveillance of our airspace. Immediately after this media availability, I will visit a joint NATO-Russia Theatre Missile Defence Command Post Exercise. This is the third in a series designed to train personnel, share doctrine, and improve understanding of each other’s ballistic missile systems, processes and procedures. From a military perspective, our cooperation is building confidence and a stronger mutual understanding of our shared values and concerns. Is there room for improvement?  Absolutely: both sides need to continue working together to develop better procedures for military cooperation.  As an example, we look forward to early ratification in the Russian Duma of the Status of Forces Agreement. This would have a major, positive impact on the further development of practical NATO-Russia military cooperation, and maintaining a lasting peace in the Euro-Atlantic area. Russia is our strategic partner and the Alliance has invested much in fostering mutually beneficial cooperation, a process to which NATO remains firmly committed. Let me end my formal remarks by reinforcing one important point: our relationship is founded on cooperation between 27 equal partners meeting at ministerial, ambassadorial, Chiefs of Defence, and Military Representatives level, on a regular basis. We will continue to work actively together to further improve the interoperability of Russian and NATO forces. I am happy to take your questions.

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