EDITORIAL: NATO and Russia

Russia and NATO, which have long remained at odds even after the Cold War, are starting to seek cooperation. The NATO summit held in Lisbon impressed upon us that times have changed.

The summit incorporated two pillars as guidelines for action for the next 10 years.

First, NATO was assigned the task of missile defense to protect European territory from missile attacks from outside the region. Second, a decision was made to advance transfer of power for maintaining order in Afghanistan to Afghan national forces and police. The target date for completion is the end of 2014.

Russia is showing a positive reaction to these new guidelines. On European missile defense, it agreed to advance studies to share information on missile attacks.

Also with regard to Afghanistan, Russia accepted the easing of restrictions on the passage of supplies and troops of European and U.S. forces through its territory.

Invited to take part in the summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it was an extremely important step that can even be described as historic. It is very significant that Russia came to share ideas for security with Europe and the United States.

Behind Russia's change of attitude is the softening stance of the United States. The former administration of George W. Bush advanced NATO's eastward expansion, leading to objections from Russia. The two sides strongly opposed each other in the Georgian conflict of two years ago. Later, the U.S. administration of Barack Obama, reaching out to Russia, put off talks to invite Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO.

Still, it is unclear whether Russia will go so far as to cooperate in European missile defense. It is said that this plan is mainly designed to counter attacks by Iran, which is developing missiles in addition to advancing its suspected nuclear weapons program. For that reason, some Russians remain cautious about it.

The European and U.S. side also need to be very careful not to needlessly add to tensions with Iran.

The Afghan situation is also serious. Because of counterattacks by the anti-government Taliban, casualties among European and U.S. troops are rising. It is important to train Afghan security forces and make preparations for the withdrawal of troops that will start in earnest next year.

During the Cold War, the purpose of NATO was to counter the former Soviet bloc. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the argument that NATO was no longer needed arose. A rift developed between Europe and the United States over the propriety of the Iraq war. Apparently, NATO was able to move toward cooperation with Russia partly because Europe and the United States were able to overcome their differences and recovered their unity.

While maintaining the nuclear deterrent, NATO aims to realize "a world without nuclear weapons." In addition to traditional collective defense, it will also advance cooperative security to promote confidence building with individual countries.

NATO, which has been dubbed "the strongest alliance in the world," is still facing a test of whether its system can remain effective in the 21st century.

A new move has started in the western side of the Eurasian continent. How will it affect East Asia, where flashpoints of conflict still remain? This is also an important point we need to carefully monitor.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 26