RFG: JOINT REVIEW OF NATO AND RUSSIA'S 21ST

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000506 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR NATO RS SUBJECT: RFG: JOINT REVIEW OF NATO AND RUSSIA'S 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES REF: USNATO 400 Classified By: Ambassador Ivo Daalder for reasons 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (SBU) This is a request for guidance. Please see para 4. ¶2. (C) NATO Secretary General Rasmussen released on November 9 a draft Ministerial tasking to begin a joint review of common threats facing NATO and Russia, an initiative first laid out by the SecGen in his September 18 speech on NATO-Russia relations (reftel). The draft tasking identifies the areas to be examined as Afghanistan, terrorism, missile defense, piracy, the proliferation of WMD, disarmament and arms control, and the security of critical energy infrastructure. The draft tasking will be discussed by NATO PermReps on November 10, and by the full NATO-Russia Council (NRC) on November 11. The SecGen hopes the final tasking will be approved by NRC Foreign Ministers at their December meeting, after which the NRC would carry out the Joint Review in time for the results to be presented to the NRC Ministerial in December 2010. ¶3. (C) Comment: We consider the limited nature of the tasking to be consistent with the vision for the Joint Review laid out by the SecGen and subsequently endorsed by NATO PermReps and Russian Ambassador Rogozin during an October 5 NRC informal Ambassadorial. The SecGen has limited the Joint Review to areas within the competency of the NRC, and avoided proposing the review of potentially contentious topics such as cyber-security. The UK, which was initially concerned by the SecGen's proposal for a Joint Review, has similarly expressed its satisfaction with the limited nature of the initiative. We will seek to determine how this project will be carried out by the NRC, including what sharing of information and intelligence is under consideration. ¶4. (C) RFG: As Secretary Clinton has previously indicated to Ambassador Daalder her general support for the Joint Review, USNATO will work to advance this initiative unless otherwise directed. ¶5. (C) The full text of the SecGen's draft tasking is as follows: DRAFT MINISTERIAL TASKING ON LAUNCHING THE JOINT REVIEW OF NATO AND RUSSIA'S 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES Recognizing that our nations share important common security interests and face common security challenges, we the Foreign Ministers of the NATO-Russia Council, agreed today, 4 December 2009, to launch a Joint Review of NATO and Russia's 21st Century Challenges. We have identified the following topics as components of the Joint Review: Afghanistan Terrorism Missile Defense Piracy Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Disarmament and Arms Control Security of Critical Energy Infrastructure To this end, we task the NATO-Russia Council in permanent session to initiate substantive work on each of these common challenges and produce a comprehensive Document to be presented at our meeting in December 2010. An Interim Progress Report will be provided for our review and consideration at our informal Spring 2010 meeting. The NATO-Russia Council in permanent session will take all necessary decisions related to the distribution of work to all relevant NRC sub-bodies to facilitate the Joint Review's timely implementation. DAALDER