Rejection of NATO-Russia Founding Act 'Could Lead to Arms Race'

The rejection of NATO-Russian Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security could mean direct invitation to a new phase of arms race, Russia's NATO envoy Alexander Grushko said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Grushko said that the NATO-Russian founding act remained one of a few constraints precluding a new arms race and its value should not be underrated.

"The rejection of the founding act, its provisions for restraints in military sphere will be a direct invitation to a new phase of arms race. Such development could greatly destabilize the situation in Europe and it is not in the interest of the whole of Europe," Grushko told Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper.

"In a number of NATO countries there are political forces that favor the rejection of the act. This would be quite dangerous. Then, perhaps, we could talk about Europe possibly losing the last tools to provide security, which would not be based on the balance of threats and counter-threats," he said.

The Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security was signed by NATO and Russia on May 27, 1997, at a NATO summit in Paris. Under the act, the sides do not consider each other as adversaries, and seek to build "a lasting and inclusive peace in the Euro-Atlantic area" based on the principles of democracy and cooperation.