Russia and NATO: A vital partnership for European security

Abstract

Following‐ the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Warsaw Treaty Organisation, Russia looks forward to a share in the partnership of democratic Europe. However, the potential security nightmare posed by the disintegration of the USSR and the emergence of unstable independent and semi‐independent states, is of direct relevance to European security as a whole and argues Mr Stepashin is a major factor in the Russian quest for greater European economic and military assistance. There are still many prejudices in the Cold War legacy to overcome but the geographic extent of the former USSR stretching across two continents, is of vital strategic interest to NATO and western Europe, and represents one facet of the search for a new world order.