On behalf of the Standing Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, President Rafael Estrella expresses concern at the recent upsurge of violence in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Standing Committee met in Rome on 30 March. The Standing Committee condemns the attempts of members of the Albanian community of the region to destabilise the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and restates its attachment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. It welcomes NATO's decision to reinforce its patrolling capacity on the border with Kosovo, and commends the European Union's efforts resolve the conflict through diplomatic means and increased economic assistance.

Recognizing the progress made by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in enhancing the political and economic position of its Albanian minority, it urges the Macedonian Government to step up its efforts to reinforce their integration into the country's institutional and economic structures, and to ensure the recognition of their rights. It urges both parties to negotiate in good faith. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly will continue to maintain a high degree of attention to developments in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and to engage its Parliament in co-operative endeavours to build long-lasting stability in the country and the region.

Meeting together in Moscow Friday 6 March for the first time for three years, members of the NATO PA and the Russian Federal parliament signalled their determination to intensify NATO-Russian parliamentary cooperation through a programme of enhanced dialogue and practical interaction. Chairmen of the Assembly's Political and Defence and Security Committees, Mr. Peter Viggers (UK) and Mr. Jan Hoekema (Netherlands) accepted the invitation by the leaders of the Duma and Federation Council's delegations to the NATO PA, Mrs. Lubov Sliska and Mr. Victor Ozerov, to make the visit to Moscow by the Assembly's Committees - comprising on this occasion 60 parliamentarians - a regular event, and to extend its effectiveness by organising focussed meetings between the Assembly's committees and their Russian counterparts. The one-day meeting in the Duma involved briefings from Russian Foreign and Defence Ministry officials and facilitated lively exchanges between Russian and NATO parliamentarians over several key security issues, particularly NATO enlargement, NATO's role in European security, the use of force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the situation in Chechnya.

Substantial disagreement remained on these key issues, yet these differences were paralleled by the identification of areas of common interest, including defence reform, missile defence, international terrorism and drug-trafficking, where practical cooperation and sharing of experience would be mutually beneficial. It was agreed that these issues would be taken up during the planned Committee sessions. Remarking on the frankness of the exchanges, a Russian official also noted the marked improvement in mutual understanding; a hopeful sign for the future. All agreed that dialogue at the legislative level, was an indispensable component of improved relations between NATO and Russia.

Meeting in Rome on 30 March, the Standing Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly endorsed the following recommendations, on the basis of the findings of an Assembly fact-finding mission in Belarus on 25-27 March.

1. The Assembly will maintain, for the time being, the suspension of its links with the Belarusian Parliament decided in 1997, in view of the expiration of the mandate of the 13^th Supreme Soviet in January 2001 and the absence of fair and free election conditions of the National Assembly in October 2000.
2. It considers, however, that it is vital not to isolate Belarus. In order to support the country's incipient democratisation process, the Assembly will: invite two civic and political leaders to participate as "special guests" in its Spring Session in Vilnius (27-30 May); these leaders will be representative of public opinion in Belarus but they will not belong to the National Assembly; support the initiative of members of the Committee on the Civil Aspects of Security to invite an independent Belarusian political analyst to brief the Committee in Vilnius; mandate the International Secretariat to explore the possibility of holding a Rose-Roth seminar in Belarus, in cooperation with a local NGO or think tank; in the meantime, ask the International Secretariat to plan for a half-day discussion on Belarus, with Belarusian representatives, at the Rose-Roth seminar scheduled in Riga in October 2001; encourage individual members to participate in speaking tours or seminars organised by NGOs and civic groups in Belarus, including in the regions; explore the possibility of cooperation with NATO in the context of Belarus' Partnership for Peace programme; mandate the Committee on the Civil Aspects of Security to maintain a close watch on developments in Belarus; These decisions will be reviewed following the presidential elections due later this year, taking in particular into consideration whether these elections have met minimum standards of fairness and democratic freedom.

These recommendations are based on the conclusions reached by the visiting NATO PA delegation following extensive discussions with the diplomatic community, Belarusian authorities including National Assembly members, members of the opposition not represented in Parliament, trade union leaders, potential candidates in the forthcoming presidential elections, civic organisations, think tanks, media representatives, and relatives of disappeared political figures over the three day visit.