Founding Act
on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the
Russian Federation signed in Paris, France
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its member States, on the one hand, and the Russian
Federation, on the other hand, hereinafter referred to as NATO and Russia, based on an
enduring political commitment undertaken at the highest political level, will build together a
lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area on the principles of democracy and
cooperative security.
NATO and Russia do not consider each other as adversaries. They share the goal of overcoming
the vestiges of earlier confrontation and competition and of strengthening mutual trust and
cooperation. The present Act reaffirms the determination of NATO and Russia to give concrete
substance to their shared commitment to build a stable, peaceful and undivided Europe, whole
and free, to the benefit of all its peoples. Making this commitment at the highest political level
marks the beginning of a fundamentally new relationship between NATO and Russia. They
intend to develop, on the basis of common interest, reciprocity and transparency a strong, stable
and enduring partnership.
This Act defines the goals and mechanism of consultation, cooperation, joint decision-making
and joint action that will constitute the core of the mutual relations between NATO and Russia.
NATO has undertaken a historic transformation -- a process that will continue. In 1991 the
Alliance revised its strategic doctrine to take account of the new security environment in Europe.
Accordingly, NATO has radically reduced and continues the adaptation of its conventional and
nuclear forces. While preserving the capability to meet the commitments undertaken in the
Washington Treaty, NATO has expanded and will continue to expand its political functions, and
taken on new missions of peacekeeping and crisis management in support of the United Nations
(UN) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), such as in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, to address new security challenges in close association with other countries and
27 May. 1997 - | Last updated: 12 Oct. 2009 17:48
international organisations. NATO is in the process of developing the European Security and
Defence Identity (ESDI) within the Alliance. It will continue to develop a broad and dynamic
pattern of cooperation with OSCE participating States in particular through the Partnership for
Peace and is working with Partner countries on the initiative to establish a Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council. NATO member States have decided to examine NATO's Strategic Concept to
ensure that it is fully consistent with Europe's new security situation and challenges.
Russia is continuing the building of a democratic society and the realisation of its political and
economic transformation. It is developing the concept of its national security and revising its
military doctrine to ensure that they are fully consistent with new security realities. Russia has
carried out deep reductions in its armed forces, has withdrawn its forces on an unprecedented
scale from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries and withdrawn
all its nuclear weapons back to its own national territory. Russia is committed to further reducing
its conventional and nuclear forces. It is actively participating in peacekeeping operations in
support of the UN and the OSCE, as well as in crisis management in different areas of the world.
Russia is contributing to the multinational forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I. Principles
Proceeding from the principle that the security of all states in the Euro-Atlantic community is
indivisible, NATO and Russia will work together to contribute to the establishment in Europe of
common and comprehensive security based on the allegiance to shared values, commitments
and norms of behaviour in the interests of all states. NATO and Russia will help to strengthen the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, including developing further its role as a
primary instrument in preventive diplomacy, conflict prevention, crisis management, postconflict
rehabilitation and regional security cooperation, as well as in enhancing its operational
capabilities to carry out these tasks. The OSCE, as the only pan-European security organisation,
has a key role in European peace and stability. In strengthening the OSCE, NATO and Russia will
cooperate to prevent any possibility of returning to a Europe of division and confrontation, or
the isolation of any state.
Consistent with the OSCE's work on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe
for the Twenty-First Century, and taking into account the decisions of the Lisbon Summit
concerning a Charter on European security, NATO and Russia will seek the widest possible
cooperation among participating States of the OSCE with the aim of creating in Europe a
common space of security and stability, without dividing lines or spheres of influence limiting the
sovereignty of any state.
NATO and Russia start from the premise that the shared objective of strengthening security and
stability in the Euro-Atlantic area for the benefit of all countries requires a response to new risks
and challenges, such as aggressive nationalism, proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons, terrorism, persistent abuse of human rights and of the rights of persons belonging to
national minorities and unresolved territorial disputes, which pose a threat to common peace,
prosperity and stability.
This Act does not affect, and cannot be regarded as affecting, the primary responsibility of the
UN Security Council for maintaining international peace and security, or the role of the OSCE as
the inclusive and comprehensive organisation for consultation, decision-making and
cooperation in its area and as a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the United Nations
Charter.
In implementing the provisions in this Act, NATO and Russia will observe in good faith their
obligations under international law and international instruments, including the obligations of
the United Nations Charter and the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights as
well as their commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and subsequent OSCE documents,
including the Charter of Paris and the documents adopted at the Lisbon OSCE Summit.
To achieve the aims of this Act, NATO and Russia will base their relations on a shared
commitment to the following principles:
development, on the basis of transparency, of a strong, stable, enduring and equal
partnership and of cooperation to strengthen security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic
area;
acknowledgement of the vital role that democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law, and
respect for human rights and civil liberties and the development of free market economies
play in the development of common prosperity and comprehensive security;
refraining from the threat or use of force against each other as well as against any other
state, its sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence in any manner
inconsistent with the United Nations Charter and with the Declaration of Principles Guiding
Relations Between Participating States contained in the Helsinki Final Act;
respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all states and their
inherent right to choose the means to ensure their own security, the inviolability of borders
and peoples' right of self-determination as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and other
OSCE documents;
mutual transparency in creating and implementing defence policy and military doctrines;
prevention of conflicts and settlement of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with
UN and OSCE principles;
support, on a case-by-case basis, of peacekeeping operations carried out under the
authority of the UN Security Council or the responsibility of the OSCE.
II. Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation, the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint
Council
To carry out the activities and aims provided for by this Act and to develop common approaches
to European security and to political problems, NATO and Russia will create the NATO-Russia
Permanent Joint Council. The central objective of this Permanent Joint Council will be to build
increasing levels of trust, unity of purpose and habits of consultation and cooperation between
NATO and Russia, in order to enhance each other's security and that of all nations in the EuroAtlantic
area and diminish the security of none. If disagreements arise, NATO and Russia will
endeavour to settle them on the basis of goodwill and mutual respect within the framework of
political consultations.
The Permanent Joint Council will provide a mechanism for consultations, coordination and, to
the maximum extent possible, where appropriate, for joint decisions and joint action with
respect to security issues of common concern. The consultations will not extend to internal
matters of either NATO, NATO member States or Russia.
The shared objective of NATO and Russia is to identify and pursue as many opportunities for
joint action as possible. As the relationship develops, they expect that additional opportunities
for joint action will emerge.
The Permanent Joint Council will be the principal venue of consultation between NATO and
Russia in times of crisis or for any other situation affecting peace and stability. Extraordinary
meetings of the Council will take place in addition to its regular meetings to allow for prompt
consultations in case of emergencies. In this context, NATO and Russia will promptly consult
within the Permanent Joint Council in case one of the Council members perceives a threat to its
territorial integrity, political independence or security.
The activities of the Permanent Joint Council will be built upon the principles of reciprocity and
transparency. In the course of their consultations and cooperation, NATO and Russia will inform
each other regarding the respective security-related challenges they face and the measures that
each intends to take to address them.
Provisions of this Act do not provide NATO or Russia, in any way, with a right of veto over the
actions of the other nor do they infringe upon or restrict the rights of NATO or Russia to
independent decision-making and action. They cannot be used as a means to disadvantage the
interests of other states.
The Permanent Joint Council will meet at various levels and in different forms, according to the
subject matter and the wishes of NATO and Russia. The Permanent Joint Council will meet at the
level of Foreign Ministers and at the level of Defence Ministers twice annually, and also monthly
at the level of ambassadors/permanent representatives to the North Atlantic Council.
The Permanent Joint Council may also meet, as appropriate, at the level of Heads of State and
Government.
The Permanent Joint Council may establish committees or working groups for individual subjects
or areas of cooperation on an ad hoc or permanent basis, as appropriate.
Under the auspices of the Permanent Joint Council, military representatives and Chiefs of Staff
will also meet; meetings of Chiefs of Staff will take place no less than twice a year, and also
monthly at military representatives level. Meetings of military experts may be convened, as
appropriate.
The Permanent Joint Council will be chaired jointly by the Secretary General of NATO, a
representative of one of the NATO member States on a rotation basis, and a representative of
Russia.
To support the work of the Permanent Joint Council, NATO and Russia will establish the
necessary administrative structures.
Russia will establish a Mission to NATO headed by a representative at the rank of Ambassador. A
senior military representative and his staff will be part of this Mission for the purposes of the
military cooperation. NATO retains the possibility of establishing an appropriate presence in
Moscow, the modalities of which remain to be determined.
The agenda for regular sessions will be established jointly. Organisational arrangements and
rules of procedure for the Permanent Joint Council will be worked out. These arrangements will
be in place for the inaugural meeting of the Permanent Joint Council which will be held no later
than four months after the signature of this Act.
The Permanent Joint Council will engage in three distinct activities:
consulting on the topics in Section III of this Act and on any other political or security issue
determined by mutual consent;
on the basis of these consultations, developing joint initiatives on which NATO and Russia
would agree to speak or act in parallel;
once consensus has been reached in the course of consultation, making joint decisions and
taking joint action on a case-by-case basis, including participation, on an equitable basis, in
the planning and preparation of joint operations, including peacekeeping operations under
the authority of the UN Security Council or the responsibility of the OSCE.
Any actions undertaken by NATO or Russia, together or separately, must be consistent with the
United Nations Charter and the OSCE's governing principles.
Recognizing the importance of deepening contacts between the legislative bodies of the
participating States to this Act, NATO and Russia will also encourage expanded dialogue and
cooperation between the North Atlantic Assembly and the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation.
III. Areas for Consultation and Cooperation
In building their relationship, NATO and Russia will focus on specific areas of mutual interest.
They will consult and strive to cooperate to the broadest possible degree in the following areas:
issues of common interest related to security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area or to
concrete crises, including the contribution of NATO and Russia to security and stability in
this area;
conflict prevention, including preventive diplomacy, crisis management and conflict
resolution taking into account the role and responsibility of the UN and the OSCE and the
work of these organisations in these fields;
joint operations, including peacekeeping operations, on a case-by-case basis, under the
authority of the UN Security Council or the responsibility of the OSCE, and if Combined
Joint Task Forces (CJTF) are used in such cases, participation in them at an early stage;
participation of Russia in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Partnership for
Peace;
exchange of information and consultation on strategy, defence policy, the military doctrines
of NATO and Russia, and budgets and infrastructure development programmes;
arms control issues;
nuclear safety issues, across their full spectrum;
preventing the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and their delivery
means, combatting nuclear trafficking and strengthening cooperation in specific arms
control areas, including political and defence aspects of proliferation;
possible cooperation in Theatre Missile Defence;
enhanced regional air traffic safety, increased air traffic capacity and reciprocal exchanges,
as appropriate, to promote confidence through increased measures of transparency and
exchanges of information in relation to air defence and related aspects of airspace
management/control. This will include exploring possible cooperation on appropriate air
defence related matters;
increasing transparency, predictability and mutual confidence regarding the size and roles
of the conventional forces of member States of NATO and Russia;
reciprocal exchanges, as appropriate, on nuclear weapons issues, including doctrines and
strategy of NATO and Russia;
coordinating a programme of expanded cooperation between respective military
establishments, as further detailed below;
pursuing possible armaments-related cooperation through association of Russia with
NATO's Conference of National Armaments Directors;
conversion of defence industries;
developing mutually agreed cooperative projects in defence-related economic,
environmental and scientific fields;
conducting joint initiatives and exercises in civil emergency preparedness and disaster
relief;
combatting terrorism and drug trafficking;
improving public understanding of evolving relations between NATO and Russia, including
the establishment of a NATO documentation centre or information office in Moscow.
Other areas can be added by mutual agreement.
IV. Political-Military Matters
NATO and Russia affirm their shared desire to achieve greater stability and security in the EuroAtlantic
area.
The member States of NATO reiterate that they have no intention, no plan and no reason to
deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of new members, nor any need to change any aspect of
NATO's nuclear posture or nuclear policy - and do not foresee any future need to do so. This
subsumes the fact that NATO has decided that it has no intention, no plan, and no reason to
establish nuclear weapon storage sites on the territory of those members, whether through the
construction of new nuclear storage facilities or the adaptation of old nuclear storage facilities.
Nuclear storage sites are understood to be facilities specifically designed for the stationing of
nuclear weapons, and include all types of hardened above or below ground facilities (storage
bunkers or vaults) designed for storing nuclear weapons.
Recognising the importance of the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in
Europe (CFE) for the broader context of security in the OSCE area and the work on a Common
and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe for the Twenty-First Century, the member States
of NATO and Russia will work together in Vienna with the other States Parties to adapt the CFE
Treaty to enhance its viability and effectiveness, taking into account Europe's changing security
environment and the legitimate security interests of all OSCE participating States. They share the
objective of concluding an adaptation agreement as expeditiously as possible and, as a first step
in this process, they will, together with other States Parties to the CFE Treaty, seek to conclude as
soon as possible a framework agreement setting forth the basic elements of an adapted CFE
Treaty, consistent with the objectives and principles of the Document on Scope and Parameters
agreed at Lisbon in December 1996.
NATO and Russia believe that an important goal of CFE Treaty adaptation should be a significant
lowering in the total amount of Treaty-Limited Equipment permitted in the Treaty's area of
application compatible with the legitimate defence requirements of each State Party. NATO and
Russia encourage all States Parties to the CFE Treaty to consider reductions in their CFE
equipment entitlements, as part of an overall effort to achieve lower equipment levels that are
consistent with the transformation of Europe's security environment.
The member States of NATO and Russia commit themselves to exercise restraint during the
period of negotiations, as foreseen in the Document on Scope and Parameters, in relation to the
current postures and capabilities of their conventional armed forces - in particular with respect
to their levels of forces and deployments - in the Treaty's area of application, in order to avoid
developments in the security situation in Europe diminishing the security of any State Party. This
commitment is without prejudice to possible voluntary decisions by the individual States Parties
to reduce their force levels or deployments, or to their legitimate security interests.
The member States of NATO and Russia proceed on the basis that adaptation of the CFE Treaty
should help to ensure equal security for all States Parties irrespective of their membership of a
politico-military alliance, both to preserve and strengthen stability and continue to prevent any
destabilizing increase of forces in various regions of Europe and in Europe as a whole. An
adapted CFE Treaty should also further enhance military transparency by extended information
exchange and verification, and permit the possible accession by new States Parties.
The member States of NATO and Russia propose to other CFE States Parties to carry out such
adaptation of the CFE Treaty so as to enable States Parties to reach, through a transparent and
cooperative process, conclusions regarding reductions they might be prepared to take and
resulting national Treaty-Limited Equipment ceilings. These will then be codified as binding limits
in the adapted Treaty to be agreed by consensus of all States Parties, and reviewed in 2001 and
at five-year intervals thereafter. In doing so, the States Parties will take into account all the levels
of Treaty-Limited Equipment established for the Atlantic-to-the-Urals area by the original CFE
Treaty, the substantial reductions that have been carried out since then, the changes to the
situation in Europe and the need to ensure that the security of no state is diminished.
The member States of NATO and Russia reaffirm that States Parties to the CFE Treaty should
maintain only such military capabilities, individually or in conjunction with others, as are
commensurate with individual or collective legitimate security needs, taking into account their
international obligations, including the CFE Treaty.
Each State-Party will base its agreement to the provisions of the adapted Treaty on all national
ceilings of the States Parties, on its projections of the current and future security situation in
Europe.
In addition, in the negotiations on the adaptation of the CFE Treaty, the member States of NATO
and Russia will, together with other States Parties, seek to strengthen stability by further
developing measures to prevent any potentially threatening build-up of conventional forces in
agreed regions of Europe, to include Central and Eastern Europe.
NATO and Russia have clarified their intentions with regard to their conventional force postures
in Europe's new security environment and are prepared to consult on the evolution of these
postures in the framework of the Permanent Joint Council.
NATO reiterates that in the current and foreseeable security environment, the Alliance will carry
out its collective defence and other missions by ensuring the necessary interoperability,
integration, and capability for reinforcement rather than by additional permanent stationing of
substantial combat forces. Accordingly, it will have to rely on adequate infrastructure
commensurate with the above tasks. In this context, reinforcement may take place, when
necessary, in the event of defence against a threat of aggression and missions in support of
peace consistent with the United Nations Charter and the OSCE governing principles, as well as
for exercises consistent with the adapted CFE Treaty, the provisions of the Vienna Document
1994 and mutually agreed transparency measures. Russia will exercise similar restraint in its
conventional force deployments in Europe.
The member States of NATO and Russia will strive for greater transparency, predictability and
mutual confidence with regard to their armed forces. They will comply fully with their obligations
under the Vienna Document 1994 and develop cooperation with the other OSCE participating
States, including negotiations in the appropriate format, inter alia within the OSCE to promote
confidence and security.
The member States of NATO and Russia will use and improve existing arms control regimes and
confidence-building measures to create security relations based on peaceful cooperation.
NATO and Russia, in order to develop cooperation between their military establishments, will
expand political-military consultations and cooperation through the Permanent Joint Council
with an enhanced dialogue between the senior military authorities of NATO and its member
States and of Russia. They will implement a programme of significantly expanded military
activities and practical cooperation between NATO and Russia at all levels. Consistent with the
tenets of the Permanent Joint Council, this enhanced military-to-military dialogue will be built
upon the principle that neither party views the other as a threat nor seeks to disadvantage the
other's security. This enhanced military-to-military dialogue will include regularly-scheduled
reciprocal briefings on NATO and Russian military doctrine, strategy and resultant force posture
and will include the broad possibilities for joint exercises and training.
To support this enhanced dialogue and the military components of the Permanent Joint Council,
NATO and Russia will establish military liaison missions at various levels on the basis of
reciprocity and further mutual arrangements.
To enhance their partnership and ensure this partnership is grounded to the greatest extent
possible in practical activities and direct cooperation, NATO's and Russia's respective military
authorities will explore the further development of a concept for joint NATO-Russia
peacekeeping operations. This initiative should build upon the positive experience of working
together in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the lessons learned there will be used in the
establishment of Combined Joint Task Forces.
The present Act takes effect upon the date of its signature.
NATO and Russia will take the proper steps to ensure its implementation in accordance with
their procedures.
The present Act is established in two originals in the French, English and Russian language.
The Secretary General of NATO and the Government of the Russian Federation will provide the
Secretary General of the United Nations and the Secretary General of the OSCE with the text of
this Act with the request to circulate it to all members of their Organisations.