Turning the pages back... May 11, 1997 (05/08/05)

Turning the pages back...

May 11, 1997

Writing in The Ukrainian Weekly on May 11, 1997, Marta Kolomayets wrote of "a new phase in relations between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Ukraine," when Secretary-General Javier Solana arrived in Ukraine for a one-day visit on May 7, to open the new NATO Information Center in Kyiv and, as he put it, "to illustrate the high regard the allies have for Ukraine."

"The alliance acknowledges that Ukraine has an important and even unique place in the European security order. An independent, democratic and stable Ukraine is one of the key factors of stability and security in Europe. Its geographic position gives it a major role and responsibility. Ukraine's decision to renounce nuclear weapons and to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty greatly contributed to the strengthening of security and stability in Europe. It has earned Ukraine special stature in the world community," said Mr. Solana, after a full day of meetings with President Leonid Kuchma, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz and Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko.

"NATO attaches a special importance to its relationship with Ukraine. In 1995, NATO and Ukraine jointly issued a statement in which we agreed to strengthen and expand our relationship. I have already mentioned the areas of progress; in the Partnership for Peace, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in our frequent diplomatic and military meetings.

"Now we want to go further. We want to develop a document which will see the NATO-Ukraine relationship go beyond what we have today," he said addressing journalists invited to attend a meeting organized by Ukraine's association of journalists, the Ukrainian Media Club, at the Ukraine House (formerly the Lenin Museum).

Mr. Solana was referring to a draft agreement presented to President Kuchma outlining a "special relationship" between Ukraine and NATO. Although details of the agreement were not available, Mr. Kuchma told journalists that in principle he agrees with the document. It was expected that the document would be signed at the NATO summit in Madrid in July 1997, when the alliance was scheduled to announce it plans for expansion.

Foreign Affairs Minister Udovenko also expressed satisfaction with the course of the meetings held in Kyiv on May 7. Minister Udovenko and Secretary-General Solana signed a memorandum of mutual understanding between Ukraine and NATO regarding the opening of the NATO Information Center in Kyiv, the first of its kind.

"This paper seals the interest and the wish of NATO's member-countries and independent Ukraine to inform each other about the role and functions of NATO, as well as public attitudes toward the alliance, proceeding from the new realities on the continent," said the Ukrainian diplomat, who was accompanied by Ukraine's ambassador to the Benelux countries and special envoy to NATO, Borys Tarasyuk.

Source: "NATO secretary-general underlines Ukraine's importance," by Marta Kolomayets, The Ukrainian Weekly, May 11, 1997, Vol. LXV, No. 19.

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