Д.Медведев.Встреча с представителями Совета.16.11.08.Part 4

Meeting with Members of the Council on Foreign Relations.Part 4
November 16, 2008
Washington

Встреча с представителями Совета по международным отношениям.
16 ноября 2008 года
Вашингтон

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I think we need a rational and functional architecture. What do I mean by this? Russia is not a member of any political-military alliances today. True, we have an alliance within the CSTO, but we do not see this as a military alliance. This is a political bloc.But we are interested in making our voice heard in Europe. We do not participate in all of the European institutions. We do not take part in NATO, and we are not a member of the European Union, so we would like to have a forum where we could discuss all the different problems. I think the OSCE does not fully fit this purpose, and it is has not worked so effectively of late. We have questions in the Russian Federation anyway, regarding the way it works. But this is not the main thing. What we want is an organisation that brings together not only the nations of Europe but also the main organisations in Europe that also take part in discussing these issues, that is to say, NATO, the European Union, the CIS and the CSTO. We think that if we managed to create such a forum it would be very positive indeed.But it is not in any way intended to replace the existing institutions. I am a realist and I am fully aware that the existing institutions will remain in place. What it would do is give Russia and the other countries that are not members of these organisations a chance to openly express their views, and to meet and discuss a broad range of issues, including issues related to current threats. I cannot say for certain, but perhaps if we had an organisation of this kind, it might have been possible to avoid the problems in August when Georgia invaded South Ossetia.MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Can I ask you, and I don't mean to be defensive about this, but when we were in office was when there was NATO expansion. And I had a conversation with your predecessor, President (Boris) Yeltsin, and he said, Why are you expanding NATO? We are a new Russia.' And I said, Yes indeed, you are a new Russia. But it's also a new NATO. It's not against you.' The question is, what relationship do you see yourself having with NATO, and what could be done in order to fulfill some of the ideas that we had in terms of a closer and better relationship between Russia and NATO with the possibilities we thought they'd, that could come out of it?DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Of course we are not happy to see NATO expanding right up to Russias borders precisely because we are not a member of this military-political alliance. This does not give Russia, its leadership and citizens any added confidence in NATO. But this does not mean that it is not possible to build a full-fledged and open partnership between Russia and NATO. I think that the Russia-NATO Council that was established had in principle the potential for developing such a partnership.It was not our initiative to impose limitations on the work of the NATO-Russia council. We are ready for any evolution and we are ready for the downsizing of relations between Russia and NATO, but I do not think that this has made things any easier for anyone. Moreover, we have lost some of the opportunities we had. Russia is therefore ready to build normal and friendly relations with NATO, with the Russian Federations interests being given due consideration of course. MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: I might ask you some other questions, in terms of some of your speeches. What did you mean by some of the reform measures that you proposed and how do the economic reform measures coincide with whatever happened at the G-20 and in terms of how the current crisis has affected the Russian people. So how do all those domestic issues fit together?DMITRY MEDVEDEV: No one likes crises, and they generally arise despite the wishes of the leaders and people of this or that country. I think the current crisis is very serious. This is the first time we have been confronted by such a challenge. I think it makes no sense to analyse now what happened, though it is clear that the worlds biggest economies have not managed to cope with it, above all the American economy, which as the biggest and most influential economy has pulled the other economies along in its wake.But as I said, I think there is even a certain positive side to this situation, for it has given us the chance to readjust the system of economic relations. This is a challenge we have no choice but to answer.

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