PRESS RELEASE

10 September 1997

NATO and Russia Prepare for their First Meeting

NATO ambassadors will meet Russian representatives on Thursday 11 September in Brussels to prepare the ground for the first ministerial meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council (PJC) scheduled for 26 September in New York.

Ambassadors will agree the agenda of the ministerial meeting. According to NATO sources the agenda of the ministerial meeting will include:

• NATO-Russia military cooperation in Bosnia;
• nuclear safety issues, including the dismantlement policy for Russian nuclear weapons;
• arms control issues, including the on-going negotiations for the revision of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE);
• military to military cooperation between NATO and Russia, including the exchange of senior military representatives;
• possible cooperation in Theatre Missile Defence.

NATO sources confirmed that tomorrow's meeting in Brussels will also develop the procedures for the PJC's work. The NATO-Russian Founding Act, agreed in May 1997, specifies that the PJC will be chaired jointly by the Secretary General of NATO, a representative of one of the NATO member states on a rotation basis, and a representative of Russia. However, the precise function of the chair is yet to be defined.

The issue of how to communicate discussions and decisions of the PJC to "third parties" remains unresolved. The same NATO sources said that the Alliance is keen to develop mechanisms for regular communication of the PJC's discussions to countries such as the three NATO invitees and the Baltics. The Russian attitude to transparency will be tested in tomorrow's meeting.

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