Welcome to this meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministers Session. A special welcome to Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy, Minister Graham of Canada, Minister Martins da Cruz of Portugal and Minister Galouzeau de Villepin of France who are joining us for the first time in this setting.

We are meeting in a time of transformation. Conceptions of security have been shattered. Traditional ways of doing business no longer work. And to preserve our collective security, institutions must transform as well. Throughout the past decade, the Alliance has been at the forefront of the rapid changes in Euro-Atlantic security. It broke down the Cold War divisions of Europe, helping new democracies across the continent, engaging with Russia and Ukraine, and taking in a first wave of new members in 1999. In parallel, NATO brought peace to the Balkans, ending the scourge of ethnic cleaning in the process.

During this extraordinary decade NATO has transformed itself and helped to shape Euro-Atlantic security immeasurably for the better. For NATO, it had been a decade of great success in meeting and managing change. But September 11^th showed us that we have to do more. The terrorist attacks on the United States were, first and foremost, a terrible human tragedy. But they were also a wake-up call. Security threats can no longer be measured in fleets of warships, tanks or airplanes. Deadly attacks are no longer launched only by governments. And they can strike utterly without warning.

It is the responsibility of Governments to preserve the security of their citizens. That is the trust our populations bestow on us. Neither they nor history will judge us at all kindly if we do not take bold steps to protect them from these new threats. Since its foundation 53 years ago, NATO has been the core of Euro-Atlantic security. That is as true today as ever. We are engaged in a process of adaptation and transformation to ensure that the Alliance is able to play its vital role in preserving the safety of our populations into this new century.

The Alliance's Summit in Prague in November is the next major stage in this transformation. Our meeting today will help set the stage for this Summit.

First, we will guide and accelerate the development of new military capabilities. In the face of new threats, our forces must be better able to deter, pre-empt and defeat, attacks, and sustain operations over distance and time. In the face of today's threats, this means that they must be able to help protect our populations, and themselves, against weapons of mass destruction. I will ask you to give new impetus to these critical improvements. We cannot afford to be too modest in our ambitions.

Second, we will move forward NATO's enlargement process. Our commitment to maintaining an open door to new members remains as strong as ever. Enlargement strengthens our Alliance. It answers the legitimate aspirations of democratic nations. It enhances stability by encouraging reform. And it broadens the family of Euro-Atlantic countries. At today's meeting, we will not discuss which countries should be invited to join in this new round of enlargement. It is too early for that. But we will elaborate how the enlargement process should proceed, to ensure that aspirants are ready to assume the responsibilities of NATO membership when they join the Alliance. Actual invitations to begin accession talks will be issued by our Heads of State and Government at Prague.

Finally, we will deepen and enhance NATO's partnerships. In the wake of September 11^th, it is more important than ever that the Euro-Atlantic family of nations moves closer together. Democracies from North America, Europe and through the Caucasus to Central Asia must co-operate closely and effectively if we are to tackle the security threats now facing us all. We will finalise work on the agreement between NATO and Russia to create, in two weeks in Rome, a new Council, where NATO member states and Russia can sit together, as 20 equals, to discuss and decide on issues of common concern. This initiative is, quite simply, historic. In its symbolism, the new level of practical co-operation between the 19 NATO Allies and Russia illustrates how far we have already come in putting the divisions of the past behind us.

If the thinking that characterised the Cold War can be said to have an ending, it will be in Rome on 28 May 2002. Together, the countries that spent four decades glowering at each other across a wall of hatred and fear now have the opportunity to transform future Euro-Atlantic security for the better.

We will also deepen our practical and positive relations with Ukraine. We will continue the adaptation of Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, to ensure they meet the needs of all participants, NATO and non-NATO. We will continue fine-tuning our presence in the Balkans, to help countries now dependent on international assistance evolve into self-sufficient members of the Euro-Atlantic family.

And last but most certainly not least, we will carry forward NATO's growing relationship with the European Union, the strategic partnership envisaged by EU leaders at Nice which has already played a vital role in keeping peace in the Balkans. Today's meeting is therefore a key stepping stone to the November Prague Summit. The decisions we take here will help to ensure that NATO continues to do what it has always done bring together North America and Europe to preserve the security of our populations, and to lay the foundations for the safety of future generations.

At the start of the 21^st century we live in a new, closely interrelated world, in which unprecedented new threats and challenges demand increasingly united responses. Consequently, we, the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Russian Federation are today opening a new page in our relations, aimed at enhancing our ability to work together in areas of common interest and to stand together against common threats and risks to our security. As participants of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Co-operation and Security, we reaffirm the goals, principles and commitments set forth therein, in particular our determination to build together a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area on the principles of democracy and co-operative security and the principle that the security of all states in the Euro-Atlantic community is indivisible. We are convinced that a qualitatively new relationship between NATO and the Russian Federation will constitute an essential contribution in achieving this goal. In this context, we will observe in good faith our obligations under international law, including the UN Charter, provisions and principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act and the OSCE Charter for European Security.

Building on the Founding Act and taking into account the initiative taken by our Foreign Ministers, as reflected in their statement of 7 December 2001, to bring together NATO member states and Russia to identify and pursue opportunities for joint action at twenty, we hereby establish the NATO-Russia Council. In the framework of the NATO-Russia Council, NATO member states and Russia will work as equal partners in areas of common interest. The NATO-Russia Council will provide a mechanism for consultation, consensus-building, co-operation, joint decision, and joint action for the member states of NATO and Russia on a wide spectrum of security issues in the Euro-Atlantic region.

The NATO-Russia Council will serve as the principal structure and venue for advancing the relationship between NATO and Russia. It will operate on the principle of consensus. It will work on the basis of a continuous political dialogue on security issues among its members with a view to early identification of emerging problems, determination of optimal common approaches and the conduct of joint actions, as appropriate. The members of the NATO-Russia Council, acting in their national capacities and in a manner consistent with their respective collective commitments and obligations, will take joint decisions and will bear equal responsibility, individually and jointly, for their implementation. Each member may raise in the NATO-Russia Council issues related to the implementation of joint decisions.

The NATO-Russia Council will be chaired by the Secretary General of NATO. It will meet at the level of Foreign Ministers and at the level of Defence Ministers twice annually, and at the level of Heads of State and Government as appropriate. Meetings of the Council at Ambassadorial level will be held at least once a month, with the possibility of more frequent meetings as needed, including extraordinary meetings, which will take place at the request of any Member or the NATO Secretary General.

To support and prepare the meetings of the Council a Preparatory Committee is established, at the level of the NATO Political Committee, with Russian representation at the appropriate level. The Preparatory Committee will meet twice monthly, or more often if necessary. The NATO-Russia Council may also establish committees or working groups for individual subjects or areas of co-operation on an ad hoc or permanent basis, as appropriate. Such committees and working groups will draw upon the resources of existing NATO

committees. Under the auspices of the Council, military representatives and Chiefs of Staff will also meet. Meetings of Chiefs of Staff will take place no less than twice a year, meetings at military representatives level at least once a month, with the possibility of more frequent meetings as needed. Meetings of military experts may be convened as appropriate.

The NATO-Russia Council, replacing the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council, will focus on all areas of mutual interest identified in Section III of the Founding Act, including the provision to add other areas by mutual agreement. The work programmes for 2002 agreed in December 2001 for the PJC and its subordinate bodies will continue to be implemented under the auspices and rules of the NATO-Russia Council. NATO member states and Russia will continue to intensify their co-operation in areas including the struggle against terrorism, crisis management, non-proliferation, arms control and confidence-building measures, theatre missile defence, search and rescue at sea, military-to-military co-operation, and civil emergencies. This co-operation may complement co-operation in other fora. As initial steps in this regard, we have today agreed to pursue the following cooperative

efforts:

Struggle Against Terrorism: strengthen co-operation through a multi-faceted approach, including joint assessments of the terrorist threat to the Euro-Atlantic area, focused on specific threats, for example, to Russian and NATO forces, to civilian aircraft, or to critical infrastructure; an initial step will be a joint assessment of the terrorist threat to NATO, Russia and Partner peacekeeping forces in the Balkans.

Crisis Management: strengthen co-operation, including through: regular exchanges of views and information on peacekeeping operations, including continuing co-operation and consultations on the situation in the Balkans; promoting interoperability between national peacekeeping contingents, including through joint or coordinated training initiatives; and further development of a generic concept for joint NATO-Russia peacekeeping operations.

Non-Proliferation: broaden and strengthen co-operation against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the means of their delivery, and contribute to strengthening existing non-proliferation arrangements through: a structured exchange of views, leading to a joint assessment of global trends in proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical agents; and exchange of experience with the goal of exploring opportunities for intensified practical co-operation on protection from nuclear, biological and chemical agents.

Arms Control and Confidence-Building Measures: recalling the contributions of arms control and confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) to stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and reaffirming adherence to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) as a cornerstone of European security, work cooperatively toward ratification by all the States Parties and entry into force of the Agreement on Adaptation of the CFE Treaty, which would permit accession by non-CFE states; continue consultations on the CFE and Open Skies Treaties; and continue the NATO-Russia nuclear experts consultations.

Theatre Missile Defence: enhance consultations on theatre missile defence (TMD), in particular on TMD concepts, terminology, systems and system capabilities, to analyse and evaluate possible levels of interoperability among respective TMD systems, and explore opportunities for intensified practical co-operation, including joint training and exercises.

Search and Rescue at Sea: monitor the implementation of the NATO-Russia Framework Document on Submarine Crew Rescue, and continue to promote co-operation, transparency and confidence between NATO and Russia in the area of search and rescue at sea.

Military-to-Military Co-operation and Defence Reform: pursue enhanced military-to-military co-operation and interoperability through enhanced joint training and exercises and the conduct of joint demonstrations and tests; explore the possibility of establishing an integrated NATO-Russia military training centre for missions to address the challenges of the 21^st century; enhance co-operation on defence reform and its economic aspects, including conversion.

Civil Emergencies: pursue enhanced mechanisms for future NATO-Russia co-operation in responding to civil emergencies. Initial steps will include the exchange of information on recent disasters and the exchange of WMD consequence management information.

New Threats and Challenges: In addition to the areas enumerated above, explore possibilities for confronting new challenges and threats to the Euro-Atlantic area in the framework of the activities of the NATO Committee on Challenges to Modern Society (CCMS); initiate co-operation in the field of civil and military airspace controls; and pursue enhanced scientific co-operation.

The members of the NATO-Russia Council will work with a view to identifying further areas of co-operation.