Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on 1 February, Secretary General Rasmussen welcomed the opportunity to discuss the relationship between NATO and Russia. He said that: “We face a clear choice. Between accepting cold cooperation. Or aiming for constructive engagement. And moving forward towards the strategic partnership which offers the common security we seek.” Rasmussen listed the following areas of positive cooperation:

•provision of transit routes through Russia to Afghanistan;

•efforts to prevent drug trafficking from Afghanistan;

•development of technologies to stop terrorists attacks in the Metro or hijacking airplanes;

•removing and dismantling old, dangerous weapons from Kaliningrad; and

•supporting efforts to remove chemical weapons from Syria.

But he called for a more ambitious relationship to address challenges to fundamental shared interests and to seek regional and Euro-Atlantic stability. These include:

The need to stem terrorism, extremism and proliferation in the Middle East and North Africa which threaten all of us. And the need to deepen economic cooperation and trade between our nations in a globalised world.

He then cited areas where “we remain too far apart” and called for end to the hostility of the past:

•deployment of offensive weapons systems such as fighter detachments to Belarus, Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, or more military forces in the Arctic;

•criticism of NATO’s missile defence system which is consistently, and falsely, described as offensive; and

•antagonism in response to NATO’s policy of enlargement.

The Secretary General said that Russia and NATO “must refrain from threats against each other” and called for “a true strategic partnership” built on “confidence and transparency”. He said that, under the 1999 OSCE Charter for European Security, Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements without external pressure. He added that democratic principles and the rule of law must be respected and an agreement on missile defence cooperation would improve protection for all, in Russia as well as in Europe.

NATO is prepared to be transparent and engage in discussions “on reductions in sub-strategic nuclear weapons” but “the Russian demand for NATO to remove all nuclear weapons in Europe, before we even start negotiations, will lead nowhere”. Noting that Russia has said it will never come back to the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, Rasmussen called for discussions on how to come to security agreement for all and for a return to reciprocal, regular exchanges on military exercises to increase trust and confidence. He concluded that:

None of this will happen overnight. But with political will, we can avoid the risk of cold cooperation. We can move forward towards constructive engagement. And the true strategic partnership we agreed to achieve.