Interfax's Interview

 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said recently he was hopeful that Russia would display interest in further cooperation with NATO in developing an active layered missile defense system, the first component of which is to be deployed before 2010, Francois said.

 The NATO official said the project involves creating the alliance's theater missile defense system, which is intended to defend armed forces taking part in operations from cruise missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers. According to original plans, forces and means responsible for defending armed forces in operation from small- and intermediate-range missiles should be ready before 2010-2011, she said. The formation of these forces and means is to be completed before 2015-2016, she added.

 Commenting on Washington's missile defense system and its influence on Russia-NATO relations, Francois said that numerous briefings and meetings of experts have clearly demonstrated the sides' desire to openly discuss the problem. Although, a common assessment of the extent of missile threat has not been agreed upon, she said.

 It is clear that there are people in Russia who do not believe that the U.S. missile defense system poses a threat to Russia, the NATO representative said, adding that some of Russia's high-ranking officials said that the system was not aimed against Russia.
 Discussions on the issue no longer center on the question of whether or not Washington's missile defense system is aimed at Russia, she said. They are now dealing with strategic stability and major differences in threat assessments, she said.

 There is no unanimity yet in NATO about the development of a comprehensive missile defense system, and that dialogue may go on for several years, Director of the NATO Information Office in Moscow Isabelle Francois told Interfax on Monday.

 She said the dialogue started recently but that no decision has yet been made.
 Member countries agree that the [missile] threat really exists, but they have different ideas about the possible response. Obviously, the dialogue will continue for more than a year, Francois said.

 NATO began a feasibility study of the project in 2002, and the possibility of building a comprehensive missile defense system became obvious only recently, she said.

 ABM negotiations between the United States and other NATO allies have been going on for several years. NATO has had a number of briefings and meetings since January 2007, and the United States has given a detailed account of its plans, she said.

 The American missile defense system will provide a shield for only several allies, while southern areas, including Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, will not be protected, Francois said. NATO has a principle of indivisible security, which means that every member country must enjoy the same protection, she said.

 Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to supplement the U.S. ABM with NATO mechanisms that would guarantee protection to all member states, she said.
 NATO debates regarding the U.S. missile defense system are open, and every member country is fully aware of bilateral debates between specific allies. Russia also has full information about bilateral ABM negotiations between NATO allies, Francois said.

 NATO does not plan to interfere in the bilateral process, she said. Bilateral negotiations are not hostage to NATO debates, but they will have an obvious effect on the North Atlantic Alliance and other parties, she said.

 Commenting on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), Francois said that NATO wants to ratify the document, but it will do so if Russia fulfills its commitments to withdraw its military property and bases from Georgia and Moldova.

 Allies within NATO are committed to ratifying the treaty and resolving outstanding issues both within the Russia-NATO Council and on other suitable diplomatic platforms, she said.

 Links between the ratification of the adapted CFE Treaty and Russia’s compliance with the Istanbul obligations, which are included in 14 supplements to the CFE Treaty’s final act and Paragraph 19 of the OSCE summit’s declaration in Istanbul in 1999, are both political and legal, she said.

 The CFE Treaty contains a legal requirement – consent of the host country - that concern all of the document’s 30 signatory-nations, Francois said. For instance, Russia does not obey this legal requirement because it keeps its armed forces on Moldova’s territory, she said.

 NATO had a clear and consistent position on the matter from the very beginning, she said. But allies within NATO also welcomed Russia’s efforts to fulfill these commitments in relation to Georgia, from where Russian servicemen will be withdrawn ahead of schedule, she said. However, tensions remain over the status of Russia’s base in Gudauta, she said.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s April 26 address to the Federal Assembly, which announced a moratorium on the CFE Treaty, has caused serious concern among Russia’s allies in NATO, Francois said. Russia and the West seem to have the opposite opinions on the issue, although all parties view the treaty as a cornerstone of European security in the post-Cold War era, the NATO official said.

 Speaking about NATO’s relations with Georgia, Francois said that Georgia will not join the alliance in the near future.

 NATO and Georgia are engaged in the Intensive Dialogue, which precedes the Action Plan for accession to NATO, she said.

 However, the Intensive Dialogue stage does not mean an automatic switch to the Action Plan, and a decision on whether or not to admit various countries is taken at meetings of the alliance’s presidents and prime ministers, Francois said.

 After a country is invited to join the Action Plan, it will have to spend several months or ever years bringing itself into line with the alliance’s requirements, she said. Albania, Croatia and Macedonia are currently taking steps as part of the Action Plan, Francois said. Admitting a new member to NATO is a lengthy and laborious process, she added.

 Asked whether or not Georgia could theoretically join NATO with unsettled ‘frozen’ conflicts, Francois said that there were several absolutely clear requirements set by NATO. But a country’s compliance with them should be assessed in a broader political context, she said.

 One of NATO’s demands is a solution to all ‘frozen’ conflicts, and allowing a nation to join the alliance requires a political decision, she said.

 It means that, in the end, all allies offer an assessment of the degree to which a country is ready to join NATO and make a decision based on a consensus, she said.
 But all this is true only for countries that have already joined the Action Plan, Francois said. So far, it does not apply to Georgia, she said.
  

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