Macedonian Consensus
“Our approaches toward settling the Macedonian situation coincide. We support the NATO view that this situation should be improved by means of peace talks,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh said while on his first visit to NATO headquarters. Yet, neither the alliance’s Secretary General George Robertson nor the distinguished guest from Kyiv made it clear whether Ukraine had said at the Friday meeting when it was going to stop arms deliveries to Macedonia.
Meanwhile, NATO sources claim the organization takes a very negative attitude toward Kyiv selling arms to Skopje. The alliance emphasized at a number of recent meetings with Ukrainian representatives that the supplies should be discontinued immediately. NATO diplomats admit that, following the latest contacts with Ukrainian officials, the alliance and Ukraine somewhat bridged the gap in their positions over military cooperation between Kyiv and Skopje, although a host of problems still remain unsolved. Probably, Mr. Kinakh’s visit has shed light on a still hazy picture: what weapons will be transferred from Ukraine to Macedonia, how many, and when? Obviously, the premier was expected to answer these questions.
Officially, the NATO-Ukraine relationship looks fine. Messrs. Kinakh and Robertson talked without letup about strategic partnership and deepened cooperation. They agreed that a few months later the alliance and its Ukrainian friend would solemnly celebrate the jubilee of their special relationship: on July 9 Kyiv will host the next session of the Ukraine-NATO commission to discuss the five-year experience of cooperation under the Special Partnership Charter. Mr. Robertson politely noted that NATO very seldom holds sessions in nonmember countries. Mr. Kinakh assured his hosts that Ukraine welcomes rapprochement with the EU and integration with NATO, for this will help boost Ukrainian economic and market reforms. The premier also said Kyiv and Brussels would continue to contain international terrorism and avert natural disasters in Europe, primarily, in the Carpathian region. Both the alliance secretary general and the Ukrainian prime minister reiterated that they were very pleased with the improved relations between NATO and Russia. “We support NATO expansion, which we view as a stability- enhancing action rather than short-term political expediency. I can say the same about the relations between Russia and the alliance. For this reason Ukraine welcomes the deepening of these, let us hope long-term, relations,” Mr. Kinakh said.
Mr. Robertson added, “The relations between NATO and Russia and between NATO and Ukraine are two processes that complement one another.”
Ukraine favors qualitative deepening of its special partnership relationship with NATO, above all, in the fields of defense, armed forces reform, combating international terrorism, and the prevention and coping with natural catastrophes in Europe, Interfax-Ukraine quotes Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh as saying in Brussels last Friday after a session of the Ukraine-NATO commission. Mr. Kinakh noted in his speech that the last year events had qualitatively deepened the European and Atlantic processes of unification. In his opinion, they gave Ukraine a serious impetus to pursue its policy of integrating with European and Euro-Atlantic entities.
The premier emphasized that Ukraine was especially interested in using the experience of NATO member and candidate member states in economic and political reforms and in bringing their law into conformity with world standards. He pointed out that Ukraine attached great importance to NATO expert assistance in the social adaptation of retired servicemen and conversion of military bases. The communiqu О signed in conclusion of the Ukraine-NATO commission session stresses adherence to the gradual strengthening of special partnership between Ukraine and NATO based on the pragmatic balance of practical cooperation and political dialogue at the highest level. The commission also noted the Ukrainian premier’s statement that NATO expansion is an important element of a strengthened European security and one of the principal elements of the process of European integration, which in its turn strengthens Ukraine’s national security.
