LUKIN: PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE DESIGNED TO WEAKEN RUSSIA.

VladimirLukin, former Russian ambassador to Washington and currently chairmanof the Duma’s Foreign Affairs committee told Segodnya July14 that NATO’s Partnership for Peace program was "cunningly"designed to weaken Russian ties with the former Soviet republics.He also said that Russian demands for participating in NATO reflecteda desire to be part of the West’s decision-making process ratherthan a fear that NATO was about to launch an attack on Moscow.