Secret plan to bring Russia in from the cold

Newly released security dossier from 1995 reveals proposal to give Russia affiliate Nato membership

RUSSIA should join Nato as an “affiliate member” to bring it in from the cold and prevent it sinking back into authoritarianism, Malcolm Rifkind suggested in a top secret report 25 years ago.

The controversial proposal was part of a security dossier drawn up by the then defence secretary and discussed by ministers at a Chequers seminar in January 1995.

The report, released by the National Archives in Kew, west London, warned how the collapse of the Soviet Union had led to “significant changes” for Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisations (Nato) and its relationship with Russia and the newly created states.

However, Nato was “groping” towards a future with “no clear idea” how Russia should develop after the collapse of communism.

“The most difficult problem we face is how to integrate Russia into the European and Western family of nations in a realistic and sensitive manner,” the files says. Noting how Boris Yeltsin, the Russian president, appeared “visibly weakened,” it says the country’s democrats were “on the defensive,” with re- formers “antagonistic to Nato enlargement” and eager to exert the country’s might over breakaway nations tempted to join the West.

Mr Rifkind warned that Russia should not become a full Nato member because it would have “the absurd consequence of requiring the West to come to [Russia’s] help in any future frontier conflicts, for example with China” and potentially give Moscow a veto over Nato deploying its military might.

“A possible solution would be to create a new category of Associate Member

of Nato. It would, however, give Russia a formal status within Nato, allow it to attend, as of right, Ministerial and other meetings and encourage a gradual convergence and harmonisation of policy, doctrine and practice.”

Such partial membership would help Nato enlargement, paving the way for former Soviet countries to forge links with the alliance “without rancour and retaliation” from Russia, the document says.

Minutes from the Chequers seminar, chaired by John Major, do not record how Mr Rifkind’s proposals were received by ministers. However, they show Mr Rifkind was keen to “make Russia a more normal member of the

Western family … otherwise it would revert to authoritarianism.”

He explained that “Russia remained a huge geopolitical power with great military might… and should be treated for its nuisance value” because it remained unclear whether it would embrace “open society … or revert to closed authoritarianism”.

Last night, Mr Rifkind, who went on to become foreign secretary, said although the suggestion of affiliate membership was not adopted it led to the Nato-russia Council which promoted understanding and dialogue between Nato and Russia.

He added: “Sadly, this came to an end after Putin annexed Crimea.”