ABSTRACT
In the Russian North Caucasus, even after the end of the Chechen war, instability continues to be high, with virtually daily shootings or bomb attacks against government officials, police and military personnel, and civilians. Today, and in the foreseeable future, Russia is not facing the traditional military threats it had seen for centuries. Even though the momentary throwback of Russo-American relations to the early 1980s did not last more than a few weeks, it revealed the essential instability of Russia's central strategic relationship with the United States. Thus, Russia's foreign policy should be aimed at helping its modernisation. It is the European Union that is the main and most proximate resource for Russian modernisation. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Russia Council should be used by all sides for its original purpose of an all-weather forum for discussion and decisions on all important issues pertaining to Euro-Atlantic security.
