NATO Enlargement and Russia

Abstract

In March 1998, the Senate began consideration of a resolution giving the Senate's advice and consent to protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty admitting Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to NATO. The Senate is expected to resume consideration of the resolution in April 1998. A prominent issue in the Congressional debate has been the impact of enlargement on relations with Russia. In an effort to assuage Russian concerns over enlargement, on May 27, 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, President Clinton, and leaders of other NATO countries signed a "Founding Act" on Russia-NATO relations. The accord sets up a Russia-NATO consultative council and reiterates NATO assurances that nuclear weapons and significant numbers of new troops will not be deployed to new NATO member states. Many Members of Congress have expressed support for the Founding Act, but some are concerned that the pact could dilute NATO if it is badly implemented. Others feel that NATO enlargement may push Russia into an irrational confrontation with its neighbors or the West. This report will be updated as events warrant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 14, 1998
Accession Number
ADA473645

Entities

People

  • Steven Woehrel

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alliances
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Cis
  • Congress
  • Cooperation
  • Czech Republic
  • Deployment
  • Determinants (Mathematics)
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.