By Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen, former Secretary General of NATO
With the death of the Russian Federation's first Marshal, his country and the world have lost a great man. As both a military commander and as Defence Minister of Russia he was an outstanding figure and a man of enormous character and decency.
I became Britain's Defence Minister at almost the same time as Marshal Sergeev took over at the Russian Ministry of Defence. Along with newly appointed US Secretary of Defence William Cohen, we were taking over responsibility for the defences of the world's three major military powers. It was to be very fortunate for everyone that we all got on well with each other.
When I met Marshal Sergeev earlier this year in Moscow he greeted me at the new NGO, The Military Chiefs Club of the Russian Federation. His welcome was warm in every sense of the word. He recalled our days as Ministers and a few of the issues we had to deal with. But we emphasised more importantly the cooperation we had started, between our own countries - Britain and Russia but also between Russia and its old adversary, the NATO Alliance.
The Marshal told me with enthusiasm about this new NGO, The Military Chiefs Club and how he wanted me to be involved. He saw this club as being a way of involving former military officers in working in the community. He wanted people with senior military experience, Russian and others, to use their expertise to help in resolving conflicts. I told him I was proud to be associated with this idea and have worn the tie of the Club on a number of occasions since then.
It is sad that this new mission for Russia's first Marshal has been cut short but I hope it will continue and prosper as a legacy of a fine man.
I have two particular memories of Marshal Sergeev which stick in my mind.
One was the meeting of Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council Defence Ministers, 46 of us, sitting round a very large lunch table in NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. US Defence Secretary Cohen was complaining that he kept getting conflicting advice from the Europeans. "First you tell us that we Americans are overbearing and interfering and we Europeans can do things on our own." Then we hear you say, "Please Americans, stay engaged in Europe, we don't want you to go home." I entered the debate by saying, "Bill, remember the old Scottish political saying, ‘if you can't ride two horses, why are you in this circus?'" Everyone laughed and I recall Marshal Sergeev coming up to me with a smile saying, ‘I don't remember saying that the Americans should stay'.
My second memory is of the visit I paid to Moscow as British Defence Minister. I had brought with me the insignia of the British Knighthood which the King had awarded to Marshal Konyev - one of the three mighty wartime Soviet Marshals. It had never been presented to him when he was alive but I was to present it to his widow on the centenary of his birth.
In the British Embassy Marshal Sergeev and a host of Russian Generals, past and present, watched as I presented Madam Konyeva with the Order. It was a moving moment to see this little bit of the post-war jigsaw being put in place and it was the perfect backdrop for our British/Russian military discussions.
He did much to promote better understanding between the militaries of NATO and the Russian Federation. He prepared the ground for the new and historic NATO/Russia Council and his response to the tragic sinking of the Russian submarine, Kursk was to lead to the signing of the NATO/Russia agreement on Search and Rescue at Sea.
When I met the Marshal for the last time in June of this year he was wearing on his smart civilian suit the medal of Hero of the Russian Federation. I asked him if he had received it for being an outstanding Minister of Defence but he modestly replied "no". "It was for commanding the Strategic Rocket Forces", and he congratulated me on becoming a Knight of the Thistle, Scotland's oldest and highest honour.
A formidable man, he left a mark on his country - and on a safer world. He will be missed by everyone who knew him.
Lord Robertson was Secretary General of NATO from 1999 - 2003 and British defence Minister from 1997 - 1999. He is now Deputy Chairman of the Board of Moscow-based TNK-BP.
