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“NATO no challenge to Russian security” – Clinton
Published: 24 February, 2010, 00:55
Edited: 15 October, 2010, 11:00
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2010 (AFP Photo / Jewel Samad)
(17.0Mb) embed videoTAGS: Military, NATO, Russia, USA
Washington has strongly urged Moscow not to view NATO as a major threat to its security. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the statement at an international seminar on NATO's mission for the 21st Century.
She said Russia and the Alliance should forge closer and more trustworthy relations.
“Let me state unambiguously, while Russia faces challenges to its security, NATO is not among them. We want a cooperative NATO-Russia relationship that produces concrete results and draws NATO and Russia closer together,” Clinton outlined.
“I think one of our tasks in the next years is to convince Russia that NATO enlargement is not a threat to Russia, not the 21st Century Russia, not Russia which has a lot of other pressing needs and concerns – some of them being threats coming from other sources, certainly not from NATO,” she said.
Earlier, Moscow expressed grave concern over NATO's new strategy on further expansion and its global geopolitical aims.
“Cold war stereotypes remain strong in Euro-Atlantic policies, NATO is continuing its expansion at the same time as it's developing a new strategy. One strategy option would see NATO have global reach and the possibility to use force worldwide. This doesn’t exactly comply with the UN charter, and of course we are worried,” stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 18.
Russia's newly-adopted military doctrine states the Alliance is the chief source of danger to the security of the country with its ever changing plans on its missile defense shield being installed close to the Russian border.
But in her address, Hillary Clinton called for more openness about the military capabilities of both sides.
“European security will benefit if NATO and Russia are more open about our armaments, our military facilities and our military exercises. NATO and Russia should have a regular exchange of information on posture, doctrine and planned military exercises, as well as specific measures to permit observation of military exercises and to allow visits to new or significantly improved military installations,” the US Secretary of State believes.
Meanwhile, Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said current relations between Russia and NATO are “quite constructive” and might have a common platform for cooperation.
"If we understand that international terrorism, piracy and nuclear non proliferation are a third force that threatens the West and Russia, and if we convince each other that this is a platform for joint actions, then we can move towards closer cooperation," he said.
Later on Tuesday during a telephone conversation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Hillary Clinton exchanged opinions about the work underway on the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
"The sides confirmed the need to concentrate the work of the delegations in Geneva on the strict observance of the fundamental understandings reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States and confirmed at the meeting of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Nikolai Makarov and Chairman of the US of Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen in Moscow in January," said a report of the Russian Foreign Ministry information and press department.
The report added that the sides also discussed a coming ministerial meeting of the quartet of mediators for the Middle East in Moscow.
24.02.2010, 00:23
5 comments
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Russia just doesn't seem to want to take a joke. Why is Russia so serious about this. If Russia is with us they could become one of NATO's states and help fight the bad dudes in CUBA and VENEZUELA. Either you are with us or you are against us, says the devil's advocate.
Why don't you ask about NATO and its good intentions any Serb, or Abxazian or South Ossetian. Where was NATO then and why it’s different now? Just because they need that corridor from Russia to supply to Afghanistan doesn’t mean Russia should not consider NATO as threat and especially by its boarders.
I would say Russia has every reason to be very wiry of NATO. NATO is nothing more than total world domination force. Let us look at why the US forces and NATO are in IRAQ, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia, and other parts of the world. For control of the oil, the pipelines, mineral rights, drugs. America claims to have a war on drugs, but yet they use their troops in Afghanistan to guard opium fields, they attacked Iraq claiming weapons of mass destruction but yet none were found, we have the pipelines in Georgia and Afghanistan. And what is it that Russia has OIL and Minerals so yes I would say do not trust old Hilary Clinton nor the U.S. Federal government. They are claiming now that U.S. troop’s use of the internet is aiding the terrorist, this would be one of the federal government ploys to try and take away the American people’s right to freedom of speech under the Constitution, which the government takes an oath of office to uphold the constitution which America was founded on, and they clearly violate their oath of office, and commit treason with enacting a war without congressional approval. I would see the only terrorists that have struck America is the federal government of America. Clinton when he was under scrutiny Okayed the order for the Oklahoma bombing to divert attention away from him, and Bush with the military attack on the twin towers in New York along with the demolition of building 7. So I would say no to NATO which I feel should be abolished along with the United Nations. We the people of the world can respect each other’s views thoughts and religion’s, we can have free trade with each other without greed setting in. Our nations could and should work with each other in developing our world before the select few with their plans of mass domination destroy our world. We just need to open our eyes and see the truth unite and stand as one against the tyranny and corruption of the world banks and the leaders of these banks and their new world order.