Counter terrorism efforts are a priority area for the NATO-Russia Council--with Russia offering intelligence capabilities and political influence in important regions of the world. In early 2006, Russia will participate in Active Endeavour, NATO's counter-terrorism operation in the Mediterranean, and cooperation is extending from the development of joint terrorist threat assessments through the preparation of joint studies of and exercises for effective responses.
Russia's perspective toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's enlargement is studied. Although Russia's relations with the international organization has been strained since the latter's inception, it is stressed that proposals for expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the late 1990s did little to improve existing relations. Attention is then directed toward exploring the US-led military operations in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the US's position that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization must reconsider its military and organizational strategies for ensuring global security, which include further expansion. After stating that Russia remains composedly opposed to such expansion and covering new directions in the organization's foreign policy, it is articulated that Russia will no longer contribute forces to North Atlantic Treaty Organization military operations. Nonetheless, it is expressed that several avenues for cooperation between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remain open.
