Subject: NATO Accepts Russia as Junior Partner...(Oh no I think thisis
the end!)

NATO Accepts Russia as Junior Partner

 Tuesday, May 28, 2002
                    ROME : NATO declared Russia a limited partner in the Western alliance Tuesday,embracing its former Cold War enemy as an ally in the battle against modern-daythreats like terrorism.

                 "Two former foes are now joined as partners, overcoming 50 years of divisionand a decade of uncertainty," President Bush said as leaders of NATO's19 member-nations gathered with Russia to form the NATO-Russia Council.

                The arrangement gives Russia a voice  but not a veto on a range ofissues, including counterterrorism, the spread of nuclear, chemical andbiological weapons, missile defense, arms control, peacekeeping, civildefense and search-and-rescue at sea.

                "We have come a long way from confrontation to dialogue, and from confrontationto cooperation," Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He called the agreement"only a beginning" and looked ahead to a greater role for Russia in NATO.

                The leaders sealed the agreement at the seaside Pratica di Mare air base.Italy deployed 15,000 security forces and mounted robust air and sea defensesto protect the 20 world leaders. Two Italian Tornado fighter jets escorteda Sudan Airways passenger jet out of Italian airspace after it failed toestablish radio contact with air traffic controllers, an Italian militaryofficial said.

                NATO was founded in 1949 to contain communism and the Soviet Union. Withthe collapse of the Soviet empire, NATO has been reaching out to Russia.Under the new arrangement, Russia will have more authority than in an earlier,less formal arrangement set up three years ago to try to nudge Moscow closerto the West.

                Czech President Vaclav Havel, who was imprisoned by the communists duringthe Cold War and will be host for a November NATO meeting, said the agreementmarked a new era of cooperation.

                "NATO was originally founded as a
                response to my country's subjugation by
                Stalin," Havel said. "May its summit
                meeting in Prague manifest to the whole
                world, once and for all, that the time of
                subjugation is over and an era of
                worldwide cooperation has begun."

                The accord came four days after Bush and Putin signed a treaty bindingboth nations to reduce their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds over the next10 years. Both agreements gained momentum after the Sept. 11 terroristattacks prompted Bush to seek alliances wherever he could.
                Putin won favor with Bush back then when he called to say Russia's troopswere standing down even as Bush put U.S. forces on high alert. Russia alsohelped provide intelligence and access to Central Asian military installations,and Bush publicly embraced Putin's view that rebels in Chechnya have tiesto terrorism.

                NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson, who will chair the new council,opened the session by declaring, "This gathering represents the hope ofa better, saner future."  The theme found its way into every speech.

                 "The attacks of Sept. 11 made clear that the new dangers of our age threatenall nations,  including Russia," Bush said as the leaders gatheredat a huge oval-shaped table.

                 Spanish Prime Minister  Jose Maria Aznar said, "We should not waituntil we are attacked. We must be ready for any aggression."

                Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer, whose country is the only Muslimnation in NATO, suggested that the alliance has been slow to recognizeterrorism as the era's great challenge. "It is high time for concrete cooperation,"he said.

                "This is indeed an important historical event," British Prime MinisterTony Blair said. "It does give a sign of shared and common values in theplaceof misunderstanding and prejudice in the past. It gives us a great opportunity,but we have to make sure that the words that we have spoken today, withthe declaration, that we follow up with action."

                Russia earned a seat at NATO's tables as the alliance prepared to expandits ranks in November with as many as seven new full partners, includingstates bordering on Russia.

                Secretary of State Colin Powell said he recognizes that Russia opposesa further enlargement of NATO. Even with the new relationship, "Russiacannot have a veto over who becomes a member or not," Powell told reporters.

                Bush, wrapping up his weeklong European trip, said the accord does notmean NATO will soften in its commitment to protect the allied nations againstany threat.

                "Nothing we do will subtract from NATO's core mission," he said. "Thispartnership takes us even closer to a larger goal, a Europe that is whole,free and at peace for the first time in history."