Some two years after the Russian-Georgian conflict, NATO 'forgave' Moscow, giving the co-operation a second chance. The new strategy, which is, according to Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, not just a declaration, but a real plan of future actions, stipulates that NATO has no hostile intentions towards Russia.
The Lisbon Summit can truly be called a historical event: for the first time NATO officially renounces its anti-Russian policy and states the strategic importance of NATO-Russian co-operation in its program document. However the differences between the two parties' positions remain, especially concerning the issue of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On the other hand, the question of Georgia's and Ukrainian entrance to NATO was definitely postponed at the Lisbon conference. The new conception of the alliance suggests partnership, and not membership for these countries.
The common European missile defense system is to become one of the key points of Russian-NATO co-operation.
There were, of course, some awkward situations during the summit. For instance, the Armenian president refused to take part in the event at the very last moment. The reason for that was the fact that the project of the Summit Declaration announced the Organization's support of territorial integrity but didn't mention nations' right for self-determination at all, and that was considered as unacceptable generalization by the Armenian side. Nevertheless, the Summit Declaration calls all South Caucasian and Moldavian conflict parties to stick to the peaceful means of conflict settlement and to respect the existing negotiation processes. The statement emphasizes that these prolonged conflicts are sources of constant concern of the Alliance.
As far as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is concerned, the NATO Secretary General said that he has no idea what the alliance could
actually do to resolve it. Some experts think that this statement was a sort of reverent gesture towards the president of Armenia. The Azerbaijani side is inclined to explain this statement as a result of an absence of any principle position in the issue and of the non-involvement of the alliance in the conflict's regulation.
Evgeniy Krishtalev. Exclusively for VK.
