RUSSIA AND NATO NEED TO LOOK FOR A COMPROMISE IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO COME TO A NEW CONFRONTATION, BELIEVES THE PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC ASSESSMENTS

MOSCOW, JANUARY 8. /RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Ryabikin/. It cannot be expected that the West will soon decide on giving up the expansion of NATO. Now it is necessary to proceed from the concrete situation that has developed and search for a compromise unless the sides want to heighten tensions and come to a new confrontation, Alexander Konovalov, president of the Institute of Strategic Assessments, told a RIA Novosti correspondent.

In his opinion, the way out should be sought in "the right consecutiveness of steps." If the NATO bloc sincerely says no security system is possible without Russia, then relations should first be normalised with it, said Konovalov. ~But Russia too," he believes, "should not go into hysterics, it shouldn't make any statements and even less so try practically to build a new defence line on the west. That would be the answer most stupid for Russia and most destructive for its economy."

Konovalov also regards the idea of creating a military bloc within the CIS as unrealistic. Such a bloc, in his opinion, "would take away a lot of resources from Russia, but would not give it anything at all from the point of view of strengthening its defences against an external danger."

As a factor instilling a certain optimism Konovalov described the change of the approaches of leading NATO states to the problem of the expansion of the alliance and European security. In his words, "a realisation takes place that the negative attitude of Russia to this problem is not rhetorics, not a political factor due to a particular moment, but that behind it stand objective Russian interests, a desire to have a system of security in Europe for all without exception." (dev/ter)