WEU PONDERS RUSSIA’S PLACE IN EUROPE…

Ministers from 27 European countries, meeting last week in England under the auspices of the Western European Union (WEU), emerged convinced of the need to involve Russia and Ukraine in Europe’s security architecture but unsure of what form those relationships should take. British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind noted Russia’s participation in the NATO Partnership for Peace program, but cautioned that it is not "the kind of relationship needed for a nuclear superpower." The German and French foreign ministers were also quoted as saying that it was important not to isolate Moscow. Their concerns came as participants endorsed limited steps to provide the WEU with more military operational capacity independent of the United States. (Reuter, May 7 & 8) But the effort to build a European security structure that would function effectively with NATO — difficult in itself — has been further complicated by the Western alliance’s plans to enlarge NATO and by Moscow’s vehement opposition to that policy.

…As Bonn Suggests Stepping Up NATO, EU Enlargement.