On priorities of NATO summit

Today the two-day NATO summit begins in Wales. It will be attended by 60 world leaders, including the president of Ukraine. The 70 foreign ministers and 70 defense ministers will also include the representatives of respective departments in Ukraine.

The attention to this summit is huge, especially because of the events in our country. And namely for this reason the main priority, according to the report of the British government, will be the crisis in Ukraine and relations with Russia.

It should be noted that it is the second time when Great Britain is hosting the NATO summit on its territory. Before that the meeting of the leaders of the North-Atlantic Alliance took place in London in 1990 during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership.

Current prime minister, as well a Conservator, David Cameron has chosen Wales to hold the summit in order to show the brilliant modern economic image of the country that is a member of the United Kingdom. Cameron emphasized that after G8 summit was held in Northern Ireland, the Olympiad     – in London, the Commonwealth Games – in Scotland, it is the turn of Wales to show itself.

Incidentally, the previous NATO summit in Chicago in 2013 was held by the American President Barack Obama with a purpose to promote it as a candidate for holding the World Football Championship. As it is known, Ukraine has also been invited to NATO summit in Chicago, but only as a partner of the Alliance. This time because of the Russian aggression it has been given a special priority. Ukrainian question ranks first among the priorities of the NATO summit in Wales.

“Six months after Russia illegally violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of her neighbor Ukraine, we must agree on long-term measures to strengthen our ability to respond quickly to any threat, to reassure those allies who fear for their own country’s security and to deter any Russian aggression,” emphasizes the document spread by the British government before the summit.

The government of the UK offers for the participant of the summit to agree on concrete actions that will include:

• a new exercise schedule adapted to the new security environment;

• the necessary infrastructure;

• pre-positioning of equipment and supplies;

• an enhanced NATO Response Force.

“This should be part of a broader action plan that enables us to respond more quickly to any threat against any member of the alliance, including when we have little warning.

“We must also accept that the co-operation with Russia over recent years is not currently possible because of Russia’s own illegal actions in NATO’s neighborhood and we must therefore revise the principles that guide our relationship with Russia,” the document emphasizes.

Tomorrow evening the session of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the highest level will take place. Usually such events don’t take place during the Alliance Summit, which is why it is proof of the attention NATO is paying to our country.

On September 1 at the press conference at NATO Headquarters the General Secretary of the Alliance Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that in Wales the Alliance will offer concrete steps to help Ukraine. “During the summit we will meet with President Poroshenko and express our support for Ukraine. We will also discuss the priority reforms and concrete steps of help,” he said.

Of course, the Ukrainian side counts for concrete aid, in particular, it expects that the members of the Alliance will supply the weapons needed by the Ukrainian Army to efficiently fight the terrorists and Russian contractors supported with heavy equipment and weapons by the RF.

Rasmussen also emphasized that “this will be a decisive summit in the history of NATO, where the allies will agree on the Readiness Action Plan, which is a reaction to the aggressive behavior of Russia and will secure the Alliance with everything needed to meet all security challenges wherever they arise.”

Other priorities of the Wales Summit include the future of Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces from this country, tackling new threats, strengthening support of the Armed Forces and strengthening partnerships.

Read in the following issues of The Day what will take place at NATO summit and what decisions will be approved there.