Macedonia Thanks Ukraine

Ukrainian-Macedonian relations have been developing rapidly and effectively in the past two years, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk believes. He said this in summing up negotiations with Macedonia’s top leaders as part of their official visit to this country, the Ministry of Defense press service told Interfax-Ukraine. Gen. Kuzmuk met President Boris Trajkovski of Macedonia, Prime Minister Ljupco Georgijevski, and Minister of Defense Ljuben Paunovski. The talks between the two countries’ ministers of defense dealt with the situation in the Balkans and the problems of military-and-technical cooperation. The Macedonians, as the Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) reports, expressed gratitude for assistance in settling the conflict in that country. According to Gen. Kuzmuk, the two sides share common views on most issues under discussion. “We are aimed at broad and serious cooperation,” he said. To demonstrate this, the Ukrainian side offered comprehensive assistance in training pilots, instructors, the ground-based personnel, as well as specialists for other branches of the Macedonian armed forces. The first stage of pilot training has now been completed. On April 17, Macedonian pilots will begin training flights under the guidance of Ukrainian instructors. On March 16, under an agreement between the government of Macedonia and Ukrspetseksport, Ukraine transferred to Macedonia 4 Mi-8 heli copters belonging to the Ukrainian helicopter detachment of the Kosovo peacekeeping force. Another four Mi-24 choppers will be sold to the Macedonian side on dates stipulated by contract. The contract on the transfer of helicopters and the auxiliary equipment is being implemented under a military and technical cooperation agreement that Ukraine and Macedonia signed in 1999. On April 5, Gen. Kuzmuk took part as an observer in a meeting of the defense ministers of Southeast European states, where he read a paper. Ukraine participated for the first time in this kind of a meeting attended by the war ministers of ten countries and representatives of the UN, OSCE, the European Union, and NATO.