Many Partnership for Peace nations have contributed to these forces, along with forces from numerous countries on both sides of the Atlantic including several non-European states. Russian forces joined IFOR in January 1996 and since then Russia has continued to make a significant contribution to SFOR, demonstrating the potential for future Russia-NATO cooperation

In December 1998, when the Alliance decided to examine options for substantial adjustments in the size and structure of SFOR, it recognised that an international military presence cannot be the sole basis for security and stability in Bosnia in the longer term. NATO therefore initiated a Security Cooperation Programme (SCP), which has made concrete, practical contributions to strengthening stability and promoting reconciliation within the Bosnian defence community.

At the Washington Summit in April 1999, Alliance leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of the 1995 Peace Agreement, which established Bosnia and Herzegovina as a single, democratic and multi-ethnic state. NATO’s priorities in Bosnia are:

- maintaining a continued military presence to deter hostilities and providing a secure environment and support for civil implementation;
- achieving progress in returning displaced persons to their homes, something that Alliance leaders in Washington considered vital for political stability and reconciliation; and
- taking steps to promote reconciliation between the armed forces of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, and to develop the role of the Standing Committee on Military Matters established under the Dayton Peace Agreements, as an effective, centralised defence institution for the country as a whole.

Although the role played by IFOR and SFOR has created the opportunity for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to choose peace over war and to work towards the future prosperity of the country, the maintenance of peace will depend on the efforts of the people themselves and on their elected representatives. Preserving a secure environment in which this process can take hold remains SFOR’s core mission, but as conditions within Bosnia have improved, SFOR has been able to play a greater role in assisting the civilian implementation of the peace agreement.