Question: What is the role of the Russia-NATO Council as regards European stability?
Vladimir Putin: I think what we are discussing today and what we are planning to create, namely, the “twenty,” has been prompted by the changes in the world during past ten years. I would like to stress that we proceed from the need to strengthen the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the OSCE in Europe and we believe that these structures should continue to play the key role in the sphere of international security.
At the same time, some of the problems, which have now confronted the leading countries of the world and all of mankind, need to be addressed urgently, call for a prompt reaction in order to prevent a repeat of the barbaric acts that occurred in the United States and some other regions of the world in September of this year. These issues are well known: they are the fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and humanitarian operations. To be effective we have to act quickly, but in a very circumspect manner. We need new mechanisms of cooperation. It will only be effective if all the countries involved cooperate on an equal basis. In that sense the importance and role of the Russia-NATO Council we are talking about and the “twenty” format we are discussing can be very great.
But I would like to stress another circumstance. As you know, Russia maintains very good relations with the countries in another region, Asia. This is simply the consequence of its geographical position and the size of its territory. We are forging very good relations with the People’s Republic of China in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
So, while previously, when talking about terrorism, we used the term “arc of instability”, we can create “an arc of stability” in the world which would include many countries, and in the framework of that interaction we can effectively organise international security as a whole. All these components can and will, I think, play a very important part, including the Russia-NATO Council, the need for which we are discussing.
Question: Iceland has traditionally provided a link between Europe and America. Can it play a similar role in the relations with Russia?
Vladimir Putin: At the same time, Iceland has historically had fairly close ties with Russia and the Soviet Union. Just today the President and I recalled that in the Soviet period, trade and economic ties were developing even more vigorously than they are today and were at a higher level. Now that ideological obstacles to the development of relations are gone, we can and must restore that level of interaction. Besides, owing to its geographical position, Iceland can play the role of a bridge in infrastructure projects and in the sphere of cooperation on infrastructure. Iceland of course is a small country, but it is an absolutely equal partner in the northern affairs. As we know this year, in October, I think, Iceland assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. One need hardly provide any arguments to prove how interesting and important the northern dimension is for Russia, the United States and many European countries.