LAVROV ON ALBANIA AND CROATIA'S NATO MEMBERSHIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000223 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL RS SUBJECT: LAVROV ON ALBANIA AND CROATIA'S NATO MEMBERSHIP Classified By: A/POLAD Hoot Baez for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On May 27 NATO Secretary General received the following letter from Russian FM Lavrov in response to his letter informing the FM of the accession of Albania and Croatia into NATO. BEGIN TEXT: Unoffcial translation from Russian Moscow, "25" May 2009 Dear Mr. Secretary General, Hereby I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of April 28, 2009 and note that Albania and Croatia have assumed all their rights and obligations as members of the Alliance, including those contained in the bilateral documents concluded between the Russian Federation and NATO: in particular, those contained in the NATO-Russia Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Russian Federation of May 27, 1997 and The Rome Declaration "NATO - Russia Relations: A New Quality" of May 28, 2002, and will strictly implement them. Russia attaches major importance to the principles of indivisibility of security of all States in the Euroatlantic region, observation of the commitments under international law, as well as political guarantees of military restraint contained in the NATO - Russia Founding Act, which in full measure apply both to NATO members and the new states that joined the Alliance. The Russian side starts from the premise that the confirmation of political guarantees of military restraint means the following: - No nuclear weapons will be deployed on the territory of Albania and Croatia, no nuclear weapon storage facilities nor any other infrastructure for these purposes will be established; - Albania and Croatia will exercise restraint in relation to their levels of forces and deployments of conventional armed forces, abstain from permanent stationing of substantial combat forces on their territories, both land-based and air-based; - Albania and Croatia individually and jointly with other member-states of the Alliance will rely on those military capabilities, which are commensurate with their legitimate requirements in the sphere of security taking into consideration their obligations under international law; - The Russian Federation considers that the states-participants of the NATO-Russia Council in its enlarged format of twenty-nine states will further seek to enhance stability in the Euroatlantic region, avoid ensuring their security to the detriment of the security of other states, including through further development of measures preventing potentially dangerous build-up of conventional forces in certain regions and in Europe in general; - Albania and Croatia will undertake the necessary steps in the near future to adhere to the adapted CFE Treaty immediately after the viability of the Treaty's regime is restored and in the meantime will act in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Treaty. I proceed from the premise, Mr. Secretary General, that the Alliance agrees with the abovementioned understandings laid out in my letter. Sincerely yours, Sergey Lavrov USNATO 00000223 002 OF 002 END TEXT DAALDER