16/10/2007 President
A stable and strong partnership with Russia is essential to peace, prosperity and stability in Europe, which should invest in relations with Russia “on every possible level”, PACE President René van der Linden has reiterated.
Speaking at a conference in the Hague entitled “Security of relations: the Netherlands and Russia", the President spelled out a three-point strategy for achieving such a partnership. The keystone, he said, should be the common values upheld by the Council of Europe. "Values are not just important in themselves: human rights, democracy and the rule of law are the prerequisites for prosperity, peace, stability and economic growth."
Secondly, creating an atmosphere of "trust and co-operation, not of confrontation" was necessary to help prevent the return of "cold war" thinking. One bad example was the lack of consultation over a planned US missile shield in Europe: "We, NATO nations, create all kinds of consultation mechanisms with Russia to increase confidence, but when a decision of this kind is taken, there is no consultation... it is 'take it or leave it'."
While Russia’s partners should not “close their eyes” to its shortcomings, he said - most importantly, on freedom of the media - they should "think positive and be tough but fair" in their dealings with Russia, and recognise its European choice. The Assembly's monitoring reports on Russia, for example, were "based on involvement, not confrontation" and so were accepted by Russian members of the Assembly.
Thirdly, intensified people-to-people contacts, an investment in personal relations, were essential - including freer movement for students, a more open EU visa policy and warmer personal relations.
Decisions taken now would determine whether future children lived on an open and prosperous continent, or were locked again in "a bloc ideology", the President stressed. "Building a common future with Russia in a common European space is a long-drawn-out effort, but there is no other viable alternative," he concluded.