PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE:

With a month to go before NATO marks its fiftieth anniversary by adding Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to the alliance, the chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on Defense, Roman Popkovich, said that Russia “has the opportunity to destroy NATO from within, and… should make use of that opportunity.” He referred to the Founding Act, the 1997 agreement between Russia and the North Atlantic alliance which gives Russia a voice in NATO policy and a chance to participate in NATO exercises.