NATO Parliamentary Assembly<br />===========================<br />Press Release, 20 June 2002<br />---------------------------<br />NATO AND PARTNER LEGISLATORS DISCUSS BALTIC SECURITY IN RIGA<br />------------------------------------------------------------<br />RIGA, Latvia --- Members of Parliament from NATO and partner countries have<br />concluded a three-day seminar (June 16-18) in the Latvian Parliament that<br />explored the key security issues in the Baltic region and beyond. The 52nd<br />Rose-Roth seminar, sponsored by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the<br />Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia, brought together about 80<br />participants, including legislators, political leaders, experts and<br />diplomats, to discuss NATO enlargement, relations with Russia, the regime in<br />Belarus, the status of Kaliningrad, and the future of the North Atlantic<br />Alliance.<br /><br />Prime Minister Andris Berzins of Latvia, who addressed seminar participants,<br />spoke about the reforms that Latvia has undertaken in the past ten years and<br />how Latvia is increasing its defence budget and orienting its military to be<br />a dependable partner of NATO in the future. Defence Minister Girts Valdis<br />Kristovskis explained how building trust and cooperation with Latvia¹s<br />neighbours can ensure this country¹s security after the unhappy experience<br />of the last century. Brig. Gen. Michael Clemmesen, commandant of the Baltic<br />Defence College, confirmed that military reforms in the Baltic countries<br />compare favourably with those in the other candidate countries and the three<br />new allies.<br /><br />The seminar, however, showed that security today is not just a military<br />concern. In his keynote presentation Robert Nurick, Director of the<br />Carnegie Moscow Centre, pointed to how difficult it is to divide security<br />threats by region or discipline. Mr. Nurick noted that most security issues<br />in the Baltic region are linked to issues beyond the region; that it is<br />impossible to talk about the NATO-Russia relationship without considering<br />the debate about NATO¹s future; and that it is impossible to talk about the<br />future of NATO without considering the role of other institutions, such as<br />the European Union.<br /><br />These considerations were substantiated by the discussions on Belarus and<br />Kaliningrad. Michael Kozak, the US Ambassador to Minsk, noted that Western<br />engagement in Belarus must continue, also because an unstable, undemocratic<br />neighbour can seriously affect Baltic regional security. Helena Demakova, a<br />Latvian MP, called for directing sanctions against the elites in power in<br />Minsk, while at the same time engaging a weak but surviving civil society.<br /><br />Vladimir Bagalin, Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the regional<br />council in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, cited the need to find an<br />accommodation with the EU on issues like a visa regime and economic<br />relations, so that Kaliningrad does not become isolated either from the rest<br />of Russia or the rest of Europe.<br /><br />Ultimately, this seminar highlighted that security threats are broader and<br />more diffuse than before. Mark Galeotti, a British expert on organized<br />crime, talked about the rise of Russian organized crime groups, while Signe<br />Rotberga, head of the Riga office of the UN Drug Control Programme, showed<br />how those criminal networks have helped to create a growing drug problem.<br /><br />Gwen McClure, a Criminal Organisations and Drugs expert at Interpol, gave a<br />worldwide perspective on this problem, stressing in particular terrorists¹<br />dependence on international crime networks for funding and other support.<br />Participants also addressed the issue of how NATO should change so that it<br />can meet the new security threats, such as international terrorism and the<br />spread of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Nurick noted that the<br />NATO-Russia relationship is an integral part of the debate about NATO¹s own<br />future, while Randy Scheunemann, a board member of the US Committee on NATO,<br />stressed that NATO cannot take on new missions if the Europeans refuse to<br />invest in the required capabilities.