Press Release (99)17 10 Feb. 1999

NATO Political Committee to visit Ukraine on 10-12 February 1999 The Political Committee of NATO will visit Ukraine on 10-12 February 1999. This is the second visit of the Committee to Ukraine after the first one in 1997. Representatives from the three countries invited to join NATO are also participating in the visit, which takes place in the context of the implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Charter signed by NATO Heads of State and Government and President Kuchma in Madrid in July 1997. The members of the Committee will meet with Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk; with the State Interagency Committee of Ukraine for relations with NATO, chaired by Volodymyr Horbulin; with members of the Foreign Relations and Security and Defence Committees of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine and with professors and students of the Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As part of their visit, members of the Political Committee will also visit the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Kyiv, where they will meet with the faculty and students of the Institute for International Relations of Taras Shevchenko University. This event, scheduled at 13:45 on Thursday, 11 February, at the Institute's premises, is open to media participation. In addition to their meetings in Kyiv, the Political Committee will also travel to Lviv, where on 12 February it will meet with professors and students at the Military Institute of the Lviv Politechnical University as well as with the Mayor of the city. A press conference is scheduled to be held at 13:00 at the Lviv City Administration. The Political Committee will be led by its acting Chairman Amb. Donald J. McConnell, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs of NATO. For additional information, please contact Rad van den Akker (+32 (0)2 707 44 59) or Jrgen Schulz (+32 (0)2 707 41 16) at NATO HQ, or the Mission of Ukraine to NATO (+32 (0)2 707 27 27).