Moscow Casts a Pragmatic Eyesight to NATO's Expansion

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 23, 2002

Moscow Casts a Pragmatic Eyesight to NATO's Expansion

Moscow has shown a "calm" reaction to the latest expansion of NATO, through which the military alliance has stretched its membership into the territory of the former Soviet Union.

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Moscow has shown a "calm" reaction to the latest expansion of NATO, through which the military alliance has stretched its membership into the territory of the former Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday told visiting U.S. President George W. Bush that Moscow is ready to build up relations with all members of the alliance.

"It is not our principle that NATO's enlargement is a necessity," but Moscow had taken into consideration Washington's position and expected "the positive development of relations with all NATO countries," Putin said.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia views NATO's expansion "calmly" but expects the Baltic nations to quickly join the modified Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which puts limits on weapons and troops in different regions of the continent.

Some other Russian officials or political analysts also talk more about closer cooperation with NATO as well as substantialization of the new "20 format" partnership than concerns over the expansion.

Russia's low-key reaction, especially compared to the sharp criticism fired during the previous wave of NATO's expansion in 1999, again shows President Putin's pragmatic foreign policy.

Due to decreasing national power, Russia in fact has no capability to stop NATO's expansion. Meaningless quarrel could produce nothing but deterioration of the relations with NATO candidate states.

Furthermore, Russia is unwilling to damage its relations with the United States and its NATO allies, which has been largely improved since the Sept. 11 attacks in the US. President Putin believes that good and stable ties with the West could build soundexternal environment for Russia's social and economic development.

He held that NATO's eastward expansion will not pose realistic threat to Russia's security, as under the premise of generally improved Russian-NATO relations, there will be no threat of war.

Many Russian officials predicted that traditional allies could give place to a more flexible and effective international coalition under the post-Sept. 11 situation in the world, especially when dealing with international terrorism.

Some officials also noted that a over-speedy expansion of NATO might weaken its efficiency in decision-making, commanding and actions.

Moscow's phlegmatic reaction could also help it gain more odds-on in seeking EU and NATO's cooperation over issues of the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and the breakaway republic of Chechnya as well as investment and trade.

Russia's low posture reflects a realistic compromise and a strategic consideration. Analysts here believe that Russia's top NATO strategy is to further develop the "20 format" partnership with the alliance and try to get equal-say in more key issues so as to diminish the possible threats to its security brought by NATO expansion.

Xinhua contributes to the story

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