DATE=05/14/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-289784

TITLE=NATO(L) CQ

BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON

DATELINE=REYKJAVIK

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

///EDS: CLARIFIES LEDE///

INTRO: NATO foreign ministers are working in Iceland on a new partnership deal with their Russian counterpart that will result in having the former Cold War adversaries cooperate more closely on terrorism, arms control and partnership operations. In the wake of a U-S/Russia accord to cut back on nuclear arms, the deal is viewed by diplomats as the dawn of a new era in Russia's relations with the West, as V-O-A correspondent Roger Wilkison reports.

TEXT: The new arrangement will create a NATO-Russia Council in which Moscow will have an equal voice with the 19-NATO allies when they cooperate on common security threats like terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The NATO-Russia Council will meet formally in two weeks time at a summit outside Rome to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO leaders.

NATO Secretary General George Robertson calls the new initiative historic, even revolutionary, and says it symbolizes an end to the East-West divisions of the past.

/// FIRST ROBERTSON ACT ///

If the thinking that characterized 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.

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT ///

NATO foreign ministers and their Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, are scheduled later Tuesday to put the finishing touches on the deal.

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Ministers at the NATO meeting are also discussing how to adapt allied military forces to respond to new threats, such as terrorism. Mr. Robertson says the terrorist attacks on the United States last September were a wake-up call for the alliance.

/// SECOND ROBERTSON ACT ///

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.

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Mr. Robertson says citizens of allied countries will never forgive their leaders if they do not protect them from new threats, like terrorism.

Other topics on the agenda are NATO's expansion later this year to include Eastern European countries and how to deal with the growing discrepancy in military capabilities between the United States and its allies. (Signed)

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