NATO un Krievijas attiecības: Latvijas intereses formālo ietvaru un attiecību transformācijas kontekstā

Andžāns, Māris, Ilvija Bruģe, Andris Sprūds. NATO un Krievijas attiecības: Latvijas intereses formālo ietvaru un attiecību transformācijas kontekstā. Rīga: Latvijas Ārpolitikas institūts, 2016.

The study "NATO-Russia relations: Latvia's interests in the context of the transformation of formal frameworks and relations" examines the development of NATO-Russia relations since the 1990s in three chapters, with a special focus on the 1997 NATO-Russia Framework Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security. This document is given significant importance in relation to the deployment of NATO Allied forces in Latvia. Given that Russia will be NATO's strongest military neighbor for the foreseeable future, it is important to be aware of the need for a proper dialogue and approach in the development of relations between the two sides.

Although calls have been made for the repeal of the 1997 Act, the study concludes that its repeal by both NATO and Russia is unlikely and undesirable. The most likely option is to preserve it, despite Russia's particular failure to adhere to the obligations of the Act and the document's incompatibility with the current security environment. From Latvia's perspective, it is important that the 1997 Basic Law does not prevent the deployment of battalion-level battle groups in Latvia, as planned at the NATO Warsaw Summit. The authors of the study envisage a gradual resumption of dialogue between NATO and Russia, based on both the historical cyclical experience of relations between the two sides and the current dynamics of Western-Russian relations. The study also identifies potential areas for development scenarios in NATO-Russia relations: preventing a new arms race and reducing the risk of incident escalation, cooperating to promote stability in the post-Soviet space, and reducing the risk of terrorism.

The study "NATO un Krievijas attiecības: Latvijas intereses formālo ietvaru un attiecību transformācijas kontekstā" was made in collaboration with Latvian Institute of International Affairs and Ministry of Defense of Republic of Latvia.