NATO-Russia Founding Act
The NATO-Russia Founding Act (officially Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation ) is signed in Paris on 27 May 1997 under international law memorandum of understanding between NATO and Russia.
history
After the end of the Cold War , Russia and NATO began to form a partnership with the aim of overcoming their relationship of suspicion and mutual threat.
When the Russian Federation became a member of the Partnership for Peace program in 1994 , a formalized agreement was slowly being prepared, which was then submitted for ratification and signature in 1997.
Even today, the Founding Act tries to strike a balance between the security interests in Europe, the USA and Russia by focusing on disarmament, but nonetheless refusing to give up NATO's policy of deterrence and thus restricting itself to declarations of intent with regard to Russia Contracting parties should respect each other.
content
The NATO-Russia Founding Act recognizes the changes since the end of the Cold War and strives for a mutual relationship of trust in order to create a common area of security and stability. Principles agreed upon were: "Refraining from the threat or use of force against one another or against any other state, its sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence" .. as well as .. "Respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states as well as their natural right to choose the means to guarantee their own security and the inviolability of borders and the right of self-determination of the peoples ”. Political goals such as the creation and protection of free market economies as well as the participation in conflict prevention by the contracting parties under the umbrella and responsibility of the UN Security Council .
To achieve these goals, the NATO-Russia Council was created. In it, the parties involved are in direct contact and consult each other regularly both on routine matters and if necessary in the event of tension.
The third part of the act deals with joint engagement in a variety of fields, including arms control , joint peace operations, and the fight against drugs. Existing organizations such as the United Nations and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe should also be used for this purpose. These are expressly not restricted in their fields of activity by the new contract.
In the area of direct politico-military affairs, the renouncement of the stationing of nuclear weapons in the new member states of NATO in Central and Eastern Europe is included. Depending on the security situation, the treaty limits the stationing of troops in the new NATO member states, although an increase in troops is not fundamentally excluded. In this context, if necessary, reinforcements can be made for defense against threats of aggression and for peacekeeping missions.
Current developments and criticism
During the Crimean crisis in 2014, the Ukrainian leadership expected military aid in the form of precision weapons almost from the start.
After Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke vaguely of bilateral agreements between individual NATO members on arms deliveries, Russian foreign policy leader Alexei Pushkov criticized this vague agreement as a “possible violation” of the Founding Act.
Other voices regard the Founding Act only as a declaration of intent and recognize Ukraine's right to self-defense as a fundamentally consistent rule in international law.
As a result of the crisis in eastern Ukraine , Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania demanded a larger and, above all, permanent presence of NATO troops in their states. This demand affects the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act. This document, understood as a declaration of intent, states that in the current and foreseeable security environment, the NATO alliance performs its collective defense and other tasks by ensuring the necessary interoperability, integration and reinforcement capabilities rather than adding substantial combat troops on a permanent basis stationed. For this reason, the Federal Republic of Germany urged the determination that the measures agreed in the course of the Ukraine crisis are in accordance with the Founding Act. At the NATO summit in Wales Newport in September 2014, the German Chancellor reiterated Angela Merkel that the agreement for the security architecture of Europe belong, that you respect.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ MICHAEL BRZOSKA, ANNE FINGER, OLIVER MEIER, GÖTZ NEUNECK, WOLFGANG ZELLER Frieddrich Ebert Foundation Chances for Arms Control in Europe
- ↑ a b Nikolaus Busse: A declaration of intent - no more in FAZ
- ↑ nato.diplo Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Russian Federation
- ↑ South German Poroshenko expects arms deliveries from NATO countries
- ↑ rianovosti Russian foreign policy official concerned about planned NATO military aid for Ukraine
- ↑ Germany is slowing down the NATO offensive , welt.de, September 4, 2014
- ↑ Merkel prevails in the dispute over Russia course , spiegel.de, September 5, 2014