WHY NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL HAS FAILED AFTER 20 YEARS OF EXISTENCE

Abstract

At the end of 2021, Russia mobilised over a hundred thousand soldiers along its border with Ukraine constituting a permanent threat to Ukraine and a concern for the West and the whole world. On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a military intervention in Ukraine. The Kremlin has decided to reconstitute its border lines of the former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and its spheres of influence in Central and Eastern Europe.

After the end of the Cold War, Russia, a nuclear power, has constantly expressed its desire to have a special status in relation to the North Atlantic Alliance different from that of former communist countries,  members of the Warsaw Pact. The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) is the structure in which Russia had that special and unique relationship with NATO. NRC was established in 2002 to resolve any inconsistencies in the NATO-Russia relations, to facilitate a more flexible dialogue, and understanding between the parties and to open new areas of collaboration. However, it could not change the perceptions created during the Cold War, and most importantly, it could not resolve Russia's place and role in Europe's security issues.

From February 24, 2022, the NRC lost its credibility, the policy of dialogue was no longer relevant and NATO switched to the policy of deterrence and collective defense of the entire Eastern flank of NATO.

The study presents the evolution of relations between NATO and Russia, the phases they went through in the last twenty years since the creation of the NRC and explained the failure of NATO-Russia cooperation in NRC.