VZCZCXRO7506
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHNO #0565/01 3380846
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 040846Z DEC 09
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3686
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 0268
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1113
RUEHNO/USDELMC BRUSSELS BE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/USNMR SHAPE BE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USNATO 000565
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/RPM AND EUR/UMB
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS NATO MASS MCAP MARR TBIO UP
AF, IQ, KV
SUBJECT: NATO-UKRAINE COMMISSION: CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT FOR
THE DECEMBER 3RD MINISTERIAL
USNATO 00000565 001.2 OF 002
1. (U) Following the December 3 NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC)
meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers, NATO Secretary
General Rasmussen, in his role as Chairman of the NUC, issued
the following statement on his own authority:
BEGIN TEXT:
03 Dec. 2009
Press Release: (2009) 188
Chairman's Statement
Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of
Foreign Ministers held at NATO Headquarters, Brussels, on 3
December 2009
The NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) at the level of Foreign
Ministers met in Brussels today to discuss the further
development of the Distinctive Partnership between NATO and
Ukraine in light of Ukraine's implementation of its Annual
National Programme for 2009.
NUC Ministers noted the high-level political dialogue that
took place this year between NATO and Ukraine, and welcomed
the signing of the Declaration to complement the NATO-Ukraine
Charter on a Distinctive Partnership in August, which gives
the NATO Ukraine Commission a central role in supervising the
process set in hand by the Bucharest Summit, deepening
regular political dialogue, and underpinning reforms
pertaining to Ukraine's aspirations for membership in NATO.
Referring to their Assessment of Ukraine's implementation of
its first Annual National Programme, NATO Ministers
noted that Ukraine has made progress, but that work remains
to be done. They encouraged Ukraine to ensure that
elections in 2010 meet international standards, and to
improve inter-departmental coordination of the
implementation of the Annual National Programme. They
expressed concern that security and defence reforms have
slowed, but looked forward to the results of the Strategic
Defence Review as an indicator that Ukraine will align its
objectives with available resources. NATO Ministers also
looked forward to the timely adoption and effective
implementation of Ukraine's Annual National Programme for
2010.
NATO Ministers expressed their high appreciation for
Ukraine's contribution to all major NATO-led operations and
missions, including KFOR in Kosovo, Operation Active
Endeavour in the Mediterranean, ISAF in Afghanistan, and
the NATO Training Mission in Iraq. NATO Ministers took
special note of Ukraine's decision to increase its
contribution to ISAF. They also welcomed Ukraine's decision
to contribute to the NATO Response Force - the first such
contribution from a Partner Nation. They welcomed Ukraine's
agreement to allow the transit of goods in support of ISAF
through its territory, expecting that Ukraine will soon be in
a position to implement this agreement.
Foreign Minister Poroshenko expressed his nation's
appreciation for the humanitarian aid rendered by NATO Allies
to curb the outbreak of pandemic flu. He expressed Ukraine's
intent to contribute to development of NATO's Strategic
Concept, and his readiness to participate in a meeting of the
NATO-Ukraine Commission in Tallinn in April 2010.
Moreover, NUC Ministers agreed on the importance of Ukraine's
efforts to provide objective information about the Alliance
to its citizens, on the achievements made in public diplomacy
to date, and the need to find a solution to the co-location
of NATO's offices in Kyiv.
END TEXT
2. (SBU) COMMENT: Because a Chairman's statement is issued
USNATO 00000565 002.2 OF 002
under the Secretary General's own authority in his role as
Chair of the NUC, it is not a binding policy document in the
same way that a Joint Statement negotiated and agreed by
Allies and Ukraine would be. END COMMENT
DAALDER