A sharp split emerged Friday between Russia and Nato over how to relaunch their security dialogue, highlighting a lingering mutual mistrust two years after the Russia-Georgia war. The 28 Nato nations rejected a new treaty proposed by Moscow to revamp the Nato-Russia Council, a body created in 2002 for the two former Cold War foes to hold a dialogue on security issues, a Nato diplomat told AFP.
"The allies prefer an improvement of the military co-operation with Moscow," the diplomat said after a meeting of Nato-Russia Council ambassadors in Brussels. "We are in favour of improving co-operation and showing great openness towards Russia, but not for signing a restrictive treaty," the diplomat said, adding that Nato wants the dialogue to continue on the basis of its founding principles.
The two sides agreed last year to revive the Russia-Nato Council after it was frozen following Moscow's brief war with Georgia. But suspicions remain, with the trans-Atlantic alliance careful not to let Moscow win a say in its affairs while Russia worries about the US-led alliance expanding too closely to its borders. Nato insists on negotiating with Russia through other international forums such as the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
For its part, Russia has sought to block Nato efforts to recruit new members in the former Soviet bloc such as Ukraine. The treaty on the Nato-Russia Council, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov first invoked in December during a reconciliation meeting with Nato counterpart, reflects this concern. The text has not been made public, but the West appears concerned about a chapter on "the definition of combat troops," Russia's ambassador to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, told reporters.
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