Russia NATO relations
Russia was among the main opponents of NATO countries and despite this there is a history of collaboration between NATO and Russia which dates way back in 1991.This was when Russia became part of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. The Russian Federation in 1994 took part in a project titled partnership for peace and in 1997; the founding act of the NATO-Russian council was signed in France. It was to cover issues regarding security, mutual relations and security between NATO and Russia. There was the establishment of a diplomatic mission from Russia to NATO in 1998.
The relations between Russia and NATO continued developing as a result of the establishment of NATO-Russia council in 2002. Russia is however not a member of NATO and is not interested in joining its ranks (Bohm, 2010).However, the Russian ministry of defense carries out joint exercises together with NATO, as well as rescue and peace keeping operations. The cooperation between Russia and NATO has developed into several sectors; like military cooperation, fighting terrorism, industrial cooperation, cooperation on Afghanistan and so on. The cooperation on Afghanistan includes transportation of non-military ISAF freight by Russia and the fight of production of drugs locally.
The NATO-Russia council has been used as the official diplomatic tool for handling joint projects and security issues between Russia and NATO. It involves building of consensus, holding consultations, making joint decisions and taking joint actions. Despite this cooperation Russia still has views that it holds regarding NATO.
How Russia regards NATO
The Soviet Union was an enemy of most of the capitalist powers particularly the United States. There was the cold war and race for arms between the world leaders which resulted to building up of tension .This clearly indicates that NATO and the Soviet Union considered each other as a threat. This left no room for cooperation therefore; cooperation was out of the question. The collapse of USSR occurred more than 20 years ago and the relationship between NATO and Russia has not seen any radical change. In fact, very little if any changes have taken place when it comes to the relations between NATO and Russia. When the cooperation began Russia regarded NATO as its partner and the partnership between these two was seen to be growing. However with time Russia changed its perceptions on NATO .In 2006, the heads of the alliance between NATO and Russia have been seen to have improving their military apparatus in a bid to cover Southern Asia and East of Europe (Vasilenkov, 2012). NATO showed support for national revolutions and introducing their interests in Central Asia. Russia viewed this as a way NATO was using to surround Russia so as to eventually seize it in the future. Therefore Russia views NATO as its threat and not a genuine partner.
Russia views NATO as not being able to conduct combat operations against Russia which can be successful. It also sees NATO as lacking enough power and the only option they might have is using preemptive strikes by the U.S. against the nuclear forces that Russia has.
Events that have intensified how Russia regards NATO
The events in 2008 of Georgia brought a negative impact on the relations between Russia and NATO. This was the Georgia war and recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This brought a strain in the relationship between Russia and NATO. Later Russia was condemned for the recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions found in Georgia as being independent states (Bohm, 2010). The…
Sample Source(s) Used
References
Vasilenkov, S. (2012). Russia no longer NATO's enemy? Retrieved May 8, 2013 from http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/20-11-2012/122861-russia_nato-0/
Bohm, M. (2010). 5 Reasons Why Russia Will Never Join NATO. Retrieved May 8, 2013 from http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/5-reasons-why-russia-will-never-join-nato/423840.html
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