The NATO summit in Madrid yet concluded NATO's illusory partnership with the Russian Federation. Relations between NATO and the Russian Federation were established already in 1991 within the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC). The Council was a forum for consulting NATO with partners in the European theatre of action. In addition, Russia joined the Partnership for Peace announced at the NATO Summit in Brussels. It was 1994 and it seemed that the Alliance's cooperation with the Federation was real. However, NATO's commitment to the Balkan conflict caused the first animosities. Combat operations carried out by the Alliance forces in Serbia, Russia treated as a violation of its sphere of influence and suspended cooperation with NATO.
