Rasmussen foresees no changes to NATO-Russia Founding Act

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday, May 19, that the alliance does not plan to amend its framework agreement with Russia, according to RIA Novosti.

“At this stage, I do not foresee any NATO request to change the content of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, but we would also expect Russia to live up to the basic principles of that act,” the NATO chief said at a press conference in Brussels.

The Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security was signed by NATO and Russia in Paris in 1997. In the agreement, the two parties vowed to “build together a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area on the principles of democracy and cooperative security.”

In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused NATO of having breached the principles of the accord by stepping up air patrols on its western border and in the Black Sea zone. Rasmussen responded by saying the accusation stemmed from a “baseless interpretation” of the agreement.