Press Communiqu M-NAC-2(93)70 Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council Brussels, 2 Dec. 1993

Final Communiqu The Foreign Ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have met in Brussels today.They paid particular attention to issues that may be addressed at the forthcoming meeting of Heads of State and Government on 10th-11th January 1994. During their discussion, Foreign Ministers welcomed the launching of the European Union by the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty.They reaffirmed their full support for the emerging European Security and Defence Identity and for the further development of close cooperation between NATO and WEU on the basis of transparency and complementarity.They believe that this will contribute to strengthening the European pillar and, by doing so, the Alliance itself, and result in a strengthened and more equal transatlantic partnership. The Ministers discussed the enhancement of the cooperation process with Cooperation Partners, on which the agenda of tomorrow's meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council will focus. The Ministers noted with satisfaction that the concept of Partnership for Peace and related proposals have already provided a useful starting point for discussions on the evolution of NATO in preparation for the Summit. They reiterated the Alliance's support for the CSCE.They expressed the view that full implementation of CSCE standards and commitments is an essential foundation for a just and stable peaceful order.They welcomed the decisions taken at the recent CSCE Council in Rome, which confirm the important role of the CSCE in the fields of conflict prevention, peaceful settlement of disputes, crisis management and peacekeeping. The Allies also consulted on the current situation in the former Yugoslavia and reiterated their support for the implementation of relevant UNSC Resolutions and for the peace process launched by the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia.They welcomed the resumption, on the basis of the Action Plan of the European Union, of the peace negotiations and expressed their desire that these negotiations be concluded rapidly in order to reach a political solution to the conflict and to avert a humanitarian catastrophe of even larger proportions, aggravated by the winter.They expect that the parties to the conflict will adhere strictly to their commitment to grant total freedom of movement to all humanitarian relief organisations and that the airport of Tuzla will be opened for humanitarian purposes.They pledged their renewed efforts to increase humanitarian relief in order to alleviate the suffering. They reaffirmed their support for President Yeltsin's programme of political and economic reform and expressed their expectation that the parliamentary elections and the referendum on the draft constitution to be held in a few days will mark a historic step in building democracy in Russia. They welcomed the successful completion of the first reduction phase of the CFE Treaty and underlined the importance of fully implementing and preserving the integrity of this Treaty, which remains fundamental to European stability and security.Ministers called on the Government of Ukraine to redouble its efforts and to fulfil all the commitments it has undertaken in the Lisbon Protocol, including full ratification of START I and accession to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state in the shortest possible time. Their Spring meeting will take place in Istanbul on 9th June 1994.