• Russia established official relations with NATO in 1991 after the Soviet Union dissolved and actively cooperated with the alliance throughout the 1990s and early 2000s¹².
• Russia joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and signed the NATO-Russia Founding Act in 1997, creating formal forums for consultation and joint work on security issues¹²³.
• In the 1990s, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and other officials sought a close partnership with NATO and did not exclude the possibility of Russia eventually joining the alliance or both becoming part of a pan-European security system⁴⁵.
• Russia deployed peacekeepers under NATO command in Bosnia in the late 1990s, demonstrating practical military cooperation⁵¹.
• While Russia did oppose NATO enlargement into Eastern Europe during this period, it did not oppose NATO itself; rather, it pursued institutionalized cooperation and partnership with the alliance³⁴.

Overall validity: 20%

1. Relations with Russia | NATO Topic
2. Russia–NATO relations - Wikipedia
3. NATO and Russia Sign Cooperation Pact | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
4. Russia and NATO in the 1990s
5. Russia could have joined NATO. But why didn't they do it? - TRT World