NATO-Ukraine Commission meets in Kyiv (03/05/00)

NATO-Ukraine Commission meets in Kyiv

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - In an effort to better acquaint Ukrainians with the defense alliance that was considered the enemy here for more than 45 years, the 19 permanent ambassadors who comprise NATO's ruling body met in Kyiv on March 1-2 to further expand NATO-Ukraine relations.

It was the 16th meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, formed after Ukraine signed a charter on distinctive partnership with the North Atlantic alliance in Madrid in July 1997, but the first time that the North Atlantic Council, the organization's highest body, met in a country with which NATO has a special partnership.

While Ukraine-NATO relations stood at the top of the agenda, the ambassadors also sought to change perceptions still held by a majority of Ukrainians that NATO is a military threat. Surveys show that some 60 percent of Ukrainians either do not fully understand what NATO is or do not trust its intentions.

"Our joint meeting here in Kyiv was not just to demonstrate NATO's friendship and solidarity with our distinctive Ukrainian partner, but also to serve a very simple purpose: allowing you, the people of this country, to understand what NATO is and how we can interact for the benefit of all the people of this region," explained NATO Secretary General George Robertson after the commission meeting ended.

On March 2 seven of the ambassadors traveled to outlying regions of Ukraine - the oblasts of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Odesa and Kharkiv - where they met with university students, schoolchildren and members of oblast governments. Meanwhile, Secretary General Robertson and other members of the North Atlantic Council held a roundtable at the Center for International Relations in Kyiv for about 40 representatives of non-governmental organizations to broadly discuss the areas that NATO is accenting in its relationship with Ukraine.

The centerpiece of NATO's two-day presence in Ukraine was the plenary session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, attended by the 19 NATO ambassadors and Secretary General Robertson and with the participation of Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Borys Tarasyuk.

After the two-hour session Mr. Tarasyuk said the group had analyzed and assessed the state of relations between Ukraine and NATO, and had approved new policies that would "foster even better relations" in the future.

"The members of the commission emphasized that we should move from quantity to quality in our cooperation," said Mr. Tarasyuk.

The relationship that has developed between NATO and Ukraine places a strong accent on four specific areas: emergency situations, economic security, military reform, and science and technology.

Most progress has taken place in establishing joint operations in emergency situations and in joint peacekeeping operations. In the military sphere, Ukraine has made extensive contributions to NATO peacekeeping initiatives in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Currently some 300 Ukrainian soldiers remain stationed in and around Kosovo's capital city, Pristina.

Ukraine also is a key member of the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace program, in which former Warsaw Pact countries coordinate training maneuvers and bring military specifications into alignment with those of NATO countries. The country holds annual military maneuvers with fellow partnership countries and NATO.

NATO has also established extensive relations with Ukraine in emergency and disaster relief operations. As Mr. Robertson explained, it is little known that NATO contributed forces and equipment to help alleviate the effects of the devastating floods in the Zakarpattia region of Ukraine in the fall of 1998. He also thanked Ukraine for the relief workers that Ukraine sent to Turkey and Greece last year after two earthquakes shook those countries.

While generally applauding the level of relations and the positive results that the special partnership has achieved, both sides, but particularly Mr. Tarasyuk, acknowledged that further steps are needed in the reform of Ukraine's military.

Ukraine's foreign affairs minister noted that the commission meeting, which focused on defense reform, had decided that the joint working committee on reform of the military was moving too slowly, but that efforts would be made to speed up the process.

Mr. Robertson added that Ukraine's major task in military reform is to move from a conscripted to a voluntary army. Ukraine, with a standing army of some 300,000 soldiers, currently has but 35,000 volunteers under contract.

He said a new NATO Liaison Office would soon open in Kyiv which would allow for closer counseling on defense reforms.

The NATO secretary general also noted that cooperation must increase in what he termed "soft security," which he explained as the areas of science and technology, economic stabilization and disaster relief.

NATO has slowly increased its support for research development in Ukraine. For the last two years about 200 Ukrainian scientists have been involved in NATO science programs, with an additional 190 scientists receiving some sort of financial support from 70 grants that have been extended to Ukraine for scientific research in the military sphere.

Other topics on the agenda were Ukraine's new impetus in economic reform and the problems associated with an economy in transition. Mr. Robertson urged the Ukrainian government to move rapidly to complete the economic restructuring of the country. "We have learned that the pain must be dealt with quickly as possible. You can't avoid the pain," said Mr. Robertson.

However, he gave no hint that any NATO member-countries were ready to sign contracts with Ukraine for the purchase of military equipment, providing money that might help the Ukrainian economy. He explained that military procurement is strictly a matter for individual member-countries and not a function of NATO.

Although Ukraine is firmly tied to NATO via the many military and civilian programs now well established and diplomatic contacts at the highest levels, and while both sides have expressed their desire and intention to keep expanding relations, no one here was ready to say that Ukraine soon may become a full-fledged NATO member.

The NATO secretary general said the issue of membership is for Ukraine to decide. "Ukraine's membership in NATO is not on the agenda," explained Mr. Robertson. "That is a decision that will be taken by Ukrainians in due course while considering various factors."

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