NRC - St Petersburg

The NATO Russia Council (NRC) was established in May 2002 and brings together NATO Allies and Russia as equal partners. Since inception, the UK has been at the forefront of deepening NATO-Russia relations through the NRC.

The NRC aims to build a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area on the principles of democracy and co-operative security. The NRC works to enhance co-operation in a number of areas, including the struggle against terrorism, Afghanistan, crisis management, non-proliferation, arms control, theatre missile defence, search and rescue at sea, military-to-military co-operation (eg potential for participation in Operation Active-Endeavour), and civil emergencies. It also provides a forum for NATO-Russia dialogue on issues of common security concern.  Recent Ambassadorial discussions have covered Georgia, Afghanistan, Balkans, Ukraine, Counter-Piracy, and the Future of European Security.

An ongoing NRC success is its project on counter-narcotics training of Afghan and Central Asian personnel.  The project has achieved good results in developing counter-narcotic training initiatives, and strengthening the capabilities of counter-narcotic units and border guards not just from Afghanistan but from transit route states.  This provides meaningful help to create the conditions for the Afghans to work towards eliminating the opium industry, an industry that is as destructive to their own society as it is to our own. The UK has contributed more than £100,000 to this initiative.

While NATO-Russia relations have suffered from profound disagreements, including following events in Georgia, we share important common security interests and remain fully committed to working towards a common approach on the basis of trust, which needs to be rebuilt, fulfilment of commitments, transparency and full equality to meet the challenges to peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. 

In summing up at the Informal Foreign Ministers' meeting in Corfu on 27 June 2009, NRC Chair Jaap de Hoop Scheffer underlined the need for continuing high-level interest in its work. Ambassadors in Brussels would now have the task of fleshing out the dialogue.  He detected some positive momentum and hoped there would be a full discussion of the issues.  Military-to-military co-operation would be resumed.