Dartblog

If you rely on American sources for your news, you may have missed the two ministerials held in Europe this week for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The NATO ministerial, which took place Dec. 2-3 at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels produced a final communique, which you can read in its entirety here.

In it, NATO reaffirmed its commitments to Afghanistan, focusing on augmented resources for the U.N. mandated- NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), continued support for enhanced Afghan leadership, a comprehensive civil-military approach to encourage good governance, and closer cooperation with neighboring Pakistan. The U.N. mandated-NATO led force in Kosovo known as KFOR will remain in place to help support the development of a stable, multi-ethnic democratic government. They declared the European Union’s rule of law mission (EULEX) to be an urgent priority and reiterated their expectation that Serbia and Kosovo authorities will work together to help prevent violence. On Iraq, the allies declared their willingness to continue training missions in Iraq and work with the Government of Iraq to establish their long term relationship.

Predictably perhaps, NATO declined to grant Membership Action Plans to Georgia and the Ukraine. Before the Ministerial, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried declared, “That Bucharest decision has as its foundation that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of the alliance. Understood, though not stated, but clearly understood was that they will become members when and if, but when they meet NATO’s standards and requirements. And it is understood and agreed that both Georgia and Ukraine have a lot of work to do to meet these requirements.” By couching it in terms of their membership being a foregone conclusion once they meet the NATO standards, Fried challenges a belligerent Russia that thinks it can prevent the expansion of the Alliance. Albania and Croatia are poised to be accepted into the Alliance this year, with Montenegro moving aggressively towards membership as well.

On the all important issue of NATO-Russia relations, the communique is mixed, with some condemnation of Russian actions in Georgia and antiquated assertion of a sphere of influence, but agreement to reengage politically with Russia:

While we continue to believe in the importance for Euro-Atlantic security of relations between NATO and Russia that are based on constructive dialogue - including on issues that divide the Alliance and Russia - and cooperation, recent Russian actions and statements have seriously diminished our confidence in Moscow’s continuing commitment to the founding values and principles of the NATO-Russia relations. Following Russia’s disproportionate military actions during the conflict with Georgia in August, we determined that there could be no business as usual in our relations with Russia. Russia’s subsequent recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia, which we condemn and call upon Russia to reverse, contravenes the OSCE principles on which the security of Europe is based and the United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Georgia’s territorial integrity which Russia endorsed. We reaffirm our adherence to these values and principles and call on Russia to demonstrate its own commitment to them. We call upon Russia to refrain from confrontational statements, including assertions of a sphere of influence, and from threats to the security of Allies and Partners, such as the one concerning the possible deployment of short-range missiles in the Kaliningrad region. We also call upon Russia to implement fully the commitments agreed with Georgia, as mediated by the EU on 12 August and 8 September 2008.2 In the context of Georgia, we view Russia’s withdrawal from the areas it has committed to leave as an essential step and welcome the steps taken thus far to implement those commitments, while underscoring the importance of full access by international monitors and reminding Russia of its responsibility in terms of security and order. We express our support for the constructive exchanges between all the parties involved in the Geneva international discussions aimed at making progress rapidly on pending issues related to security and humanitarian matters. We urge Russia, as well as all other relevant actors, to continue to engage constructively in the resolution of these outstanding issues as the Geneva talks go forward.

The NATO-Russia partnership was conceived as a strategic element in fostering security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Dialogue and cooperation remain important for our joint ability to meet effectively common security threats and challenges. We have not conducted business as usual in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) since August. In a partnership based on common values, the lack of a shared commitment to those values must naturally cause the relationship and the scope for cooperative action to suffer. That is reflected in the limited scope of our current practical cooperation. Taking this into account, we have agreed on a measured and phased approach: we have mandated the Secretary General to re-engage with Russia at the political level; agreed to informal discussions in the NRC; and requested the Secretary General to report back to us prior to any decision to engage Russia formally in the NRC.

NATO must be a priority for the new Obama administration which has repeatedly called for a strengthening of U.S.-European ties. Though the Alliance no longer serves as the counterweight to the Soviet Union, its leadership remains tremendously influential in efforts to increase security in areas of strategic importance around the world. Its commitment to opposing piracy, particularly that which interferes with humanitarian food deliveries to Somalia, is critical to the free and safe movement across the seas. NATO has a role to play in security and democratic development not just in Europe, but around the world through cooperation with the United Nations.

Foreign ministers from NATO countries then joined the ministers from their OSCE partner states in Helsinki, Finland. Referencing the 1975 Helsinki Accords that laid the groundwork for the future OSCE, Finnish Foreign Minister Stubb said yesterday “Let’s get the spirit of Helsinki going again” as he opened the Ministerial. The Finnish leadership called for the participants to renew and refresh the OSCE to respond to security threats of the day.

OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut reminded the participating States of the essential nature of their contribution to this organization: “For the OSCE to achieve its full potential, it is up to you, the Ministers gathered here today, to work as closely as possible with the Organization the States you represent helped to create. The OSCE is here to serve you. It is up to you to infuse it with political will and energy in order to make it more than the sum of its parts.”

The OSCE has failed to produce a ministerial declaration for the past four years. In light of Russian aggression in Georgia, such a declaration is more important than ever to the future of the organization. It is the moment for OSCE participating States to join together to build a new vision for this 56 member regional security body, one that embraces multilateral cooperation in confronting the security challenges of a 21st century world. Unfortunately any significant effort by Russia to block such a document could sound the death knoll for the OSCE, an organization that has made significant efforts in counter-terrorism and democracy building, in keeping with the lofty ideals established at Helsinki and reaffirmed in Copenhagen. In my opinion, no other ministerial has held such significance and I, for one, am anxious to see the result.