Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, May 28, 2002
NATO, Russia to Sign Partnership Pact in Rome
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) and Russia will sign the Rome Declaration Tuesday in Rome, which is expected to usher in an important era of NATO-Russia cooperation in a series of issues concerning anti-terrorism, peacekeeping, arms control, crisis management and some others.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) and Russia will sign the Rome Declaration Tuesday in Rome, which is expected to usher in an important era of NATO-Russia cooperation in a series of issues concerning anti-terrorism, peacekeeping, arms control, crisis management and some others.
The landmark partnership pact will be signed by NATO leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Italy's Pratica-di-Mare air force base Tuesday noon.
The signing of the pact will mean the establishment and operation of the NATO-Russia Council, which is designed to replacethe NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council formed in 1997.
NATO and Russia decided to establish the NATO-Russia Council, or "NATO at 20," in late 2001. The tragic events of September 11 in the United States provide an opportunity for further cooperation between the two sides.
On October 3, 2001, President Putin and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson met in Brussels to discuss possibilities to deepen cooperation. Further high-level contacts paved the way for the initiative, announced by foreign ministers of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council on December 7, 2001.
The main contents of this accord were agreed on by foreign ministers of NATO member states and Russia in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 14 this year.