Outgoing NATO secretary-general takes a last trip to Ukraine (10/26/03)

Outgoing NATO secretary-general takes a last trip to Ukraine

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - NATO Secretary-General George Robertson, in his last formal visit to Ukraine, told Kyiv officials that the country has some way to go to membership in the North Atlantic defense alliance and should not hope for an invitation at the next summit in Istanbul in May.

Mr. Robertson, who will leave his post in December after four years on the job, said it would be "overly optimistic" to hope to receive an invitation at the Istanbul summit and underscored that there is no schedule or test that will determine when Ukraine will be able to achieve NATO membership.

"It is a matter of the ability to integrate one's armed forces into the military structure of NATO, as well as reach the democratic standards that NATO countries are at: press freedom, an independent judiciary, free and fair elections, and a calm domestic political situation," explained Mr. Robertson after a meeting with Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma.

Mr. Robertson, who had visited Ukraine three previous times in his position as the chief of NATO, used this trip as a farewell tour. He has had closer contact with the country than any NATO head to date and presided over the organization as Ukraine made its first efforts towards membership in the defense alliance with its declaration in May 2001 of its desire to join NATO.

Mr. Robertson noted that relations between Ukraine and NATO had grown considerably warmer since the icy days of the Prague summit last November. Then Ukraine was suspected of selling anti-aircraft defense technology to Iraq, and Western officials were showing overt dissatisfaction with Kyiv's denials as well as the level of its cooperation in the investigation that followed the charges, which were leveled in August. At one point it was questioned whether Ukraine would receive an invitation to the Prague summit at all. The centerpiece of the summit was the entry into NATO of the first new members since the fall of the Iron Curtain, many of which were Ukraine's immediate neighbors.

During his meeting with Mr. Kuchma, who was the most direct object of NATO's scorn towards Ukraine last year, Mr. Robertson emphasized the friendlier atmosphere and assured the Ukrainian state leader that the country is not the object of a double standard.

"There are two standards, of course, I made no apology for that," explained Mr. Robertson afterward. "Ukraine said it wants to be a part of NATO. The other country in this region has not said that. That is why Ukraine is held to a higher and stronger standard."

The NATO leader arrived in Ukraine as the controversy over the construction of a dike in the Kerch Strait by Russia, which seems to be headed for the Ukrainian island of Tuzla, was taking on the features of a crisis.

Hounded by the press throughout his one-day visit to Kyiv on his stance on the matter, Mr. Robertson would state only that he was briefed by President Kuchma on the issue and that it was for Ukraine and Russia to work out the dispute. He also noted that he would be in Moscow on October 30, at a time when Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov would be in Kyiv to discuss the delimitation of the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov. Mr. Robertson did not say whether he would raise the Tuzla dispute with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In Kyiv, speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Civic League, a non-governmental organization supporting Ukraine's entry into NATO, Mr. Robertson noted that the seven countries that will join NATO next May have resolved all border disputes with their neighbors.

He called Ukraine's plan for integration into NATO "a forward-looking agenda," yet underscored that "the challenge is not a challenge for NATO, but for Ukraine."

In a list of the issues that Ukraine must still tackle to obtain NATO membership, Mr. Robertson included democratic, free and open presidential elections in 2004, and the development of a free press.

He congratulated Ukraine on its achievements in defense reform, although he added that more downsizing is needed, as are more paid volunteer soldiers and "fewer tanks and more precision-guided missiles."

"We are talking about profound structural changes," explained Mr. Robertson.

The outgoing NATO leader praised Ukraine's defense expertise and heavy airlift capabilities, and thanked the country for its contributions to the NATO peacekeeping effort in Kosovo and the international stabilization force now working in Iraq.

After a meeting with leaders of Ukraine's Parliament, Mr. Robertson also applauded lawmakers for the more open attitude they have taken regarding NATO membership, which has resulted in more objective information on the defense alliance reaching the Ukrainian population.

"There is very strong support for NATO relations in the Rada today, which represents growing support for NATO in the country as a whole," noted the secretary-general.

| Home Page |