The workshop addressed post-Cold War security challenges in Europe as well as specific issues such as the prospects for improving Russia-NATO relations and arms control. The Russian participants stressed the need to focus on common security problems and interests rather than on institutional arrangements, such as an enlarged NATO. Discussions about improving Russia-NATO relations tended to centre on Russian criticism that prior cooperation – for example, the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) in Bosnia – had excluded Russia from tactical planning and decision-making. While emphasising that this practice should be changed to give Moscow a greater role, Russian speakers acknowledged that financial problems, as well as continuing opposition to NATO enlargement, are likely to limit Russian participation in future joint operations with NATO. The workshop was organised in cooperation with the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. |
