NATO officers go to Moscow

By U.S. Army Maj. Tamara Parker
SHAPE/PIO

Photos NATO officers go to Moscow

MOSCOW -- Russian military officers at the General Staff Academy in Moscow are participating in a weeklong NATO-led conference focused on improving interoperability. The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, German Army Gen. Rainer Schuwirth presented the opening lecture to 106 Russian generals and colonels who have been selected for the rank of general.

“NATO and Russia have moved from the 90’s focus on confidence building to the post Rome Summit focus of building a permanent and reliable strategic partnership with Russia and NATO nations,” said Schuwirth. “We address shared threats, shared problems and together we produce common solutions.”

He also spoke about NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme, which Russia joined in 1994. Schuwirth said that the strategic concepts of outreach and openness aim to “enhance security for all, exclude no one and help overcome disagreements that could lead to instability.”

This is the second time that NATO has sent personnel to Russia to present lectures at the GSA. The first was in October 2004. Both events were organized and supported by Allied Command Transformation, through the German-based NATO School.

During the week, high-ranking NATO officers and civilians from NATO Headquarters and Allied Command Operations will speak on numerous topics ranging from the NATO Training Mission in Iraq to the NATO Response Force to Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea, which is the anti-terrorism naval operation in which Russia plans to participate.

“In 12 months time, everyone here will be appointed to high posts across Russia,” said Maj. Gen. Aleksander Ponomarenko, one of the students in his first year at the Academy. “Today these future leaders are attending a course on interoperability between Russia and NATO. We’ll probably not be able to resolve all the technical problems, but the most important thing is for us to talk together and achieve a mutual understanding.”