The new dimension of the Rusia-EU and Nato Relations

Madrid, monday 24 november 2003

The Seminar took place ón 24th of November in Madrid (Assembly Hall, Arapiles 14). There were some seventy participants, mostly diplomats, military, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affaires and Defence, journalists, academicians and managers

The seminar was organized by INCIPE with the support of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies (IEEE) from the Defence Ministry, the Public Diplomacy División of NATO and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Spain, that offered a receptión to the participants in the seminar, the same day.

The main goal of the Seminar was to create an useful framework for reflectión ón the Russian role in the New International World Order and, especially, to evaluate the current situatión and perspective of the Russia, the EU and NATO relations. The Ambassador of the Russian Federatión to Spain, Mr. Mikhail Kamynin, gave an address at the Working -Lunch offered by INCIPE. He stressed the European character of Russia: “We donÕt imagine ourselves outside of Europe.”

The Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Sergei Yastrzhembsky, pointed out: “Russia has been and will be a European country. Our Strategic and economics interests lie in the region. Russians are linked with their European neighbours by a multitude of historical, economics and cultural ties.”