Meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in Ministerial Session NATO HQ Brussels 11 Dec 1996

Statement by the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Dariusz Rosati

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, Permit me first to express Polands true satisfaction with the decisions of the NAC regarding the 1997 NATO Summit. We share the expectations of our partners that this historic meeting will confirm the new character of the Alliance. The Summits agenda, which includes such topics as a new command structure, CJTF, ESDI, Atlantic Partnership Council initiative and others, is an appropriate response to security challenges at the turn of the century. In particular, the NAC conclusions mean that the process of enlargement has become truly irreversible and that its first stage will have been completed by April 1999. These decisions put an end to speculations and doubts. The message they deliver is clear -- 1997 will be a year of decisive action. We are also satisfied to see that the decision on the Summit coincides with the efforts towards further adaptation of the Alliance and enhancement of the Partnership for Peace Programme. We believe that this message will also help reach a mutually satisfactory accord between NATO and Russia, by clarifying the policy options for the Russian leaders. We are very happy that Russia has embarked on the path of constructive dialogue and cooperation with an enlarged North Atlantic Alliance on the basis of the offer reiterated in the NAC communiqué. This is the philosophy and the context of the enlargement process we share. Mr. Chairman, Allow me now to address the key issue on our agenda. As we review the experience of NACC on its fifth anniversary, we cannot but agree that its short history has fully proven its significance to European security cooperation. The creation of NACC in 1991 was a timely initiative and an appropriate answer to the challenges that the post-Cold War Europe then faced. It is difficult to overestimate NACCs contribution to the process of erasing old stereotypes and animosities and building of understanding and confidence among former adversaries. Therefore we endorse the contents of the report entitled "Review of NACC at Five Years." NACC has also provided the framework for the most extensive political and defence cooperation among states of the Euro-Atlantic area -- the Partnership for Peace Programme. Much has already been said about the significance of this initiative. Let me only note that the recent decision by neutral Switzerland to join the programme is perhaps the best testimony to the story of PfPs success. The Partnership has indeed become a significant element of the Euro-Atlantic security system, one that fits the needs and interests of all states which have chosen to take part in it, regardless of their aspirations and the nature of their national security policies. However, the history of Europe has tremendously accelerated in the last decade of this century. In many respects, we live on a continent different from that of 1991, when the NACC was established, and even from that of 1994, when the PfP was launched. New times call for new ideas. In these circumstances, we consider it necessary to further deepen and develop both the political and military cooperation conducted so far in the NACC/PfP framework. We believe that the initiative to establish the Atlantic Partnership Council is an important and timely step in this direction. We look forward to working with other NATO and Partner states on the further elaboration and implementation of this idea. The individual intensified dialogue between NATO and the interested Partner states, conducted this year, added a new, valuable element to the cooperation developed in the NACC/PfP framework. We appreciate the results of our dialogue with the Alliance and we are glad that NATO has decided to continue the dialogue in the coming months. We wish to commence it as soon as possible. Mr.Chairman, The IFOR operation has clearly demonstrated the evolution of NATOs role in the system of European security, from a purely defensive alliance toward a guarantor and projector of stability and security beyond the Washington Treaty area. Yesterdays NAC decisions on SFOR have once more proven the Alliances commitment to stability and security in the whole Euro-Atlantic area. The success of the operation Joint Endeavour, conducted with the participation of 16 non-NATO states, including Russia, has demonstrated the potential inherent in the concept of cooperative security. The most important lesson learned during the operation is that NATO is an enemy of no one but war, and is ready to cooperate with all like-minded organisations and nations. We joined IFOR guided by our belief that European peace and security are indivisible. For the same reason we want to take part in the Joint Guard operation. We expect that it will help, as IFOR has, to fully implement the provisions of the Dayton peace accords. We hope that all former adversaries will take full advantage of the international military effort and will work hand in hand to rebuild their country. We expect that all the provisions of the Dayton Peace Agreement shall be observed and fully implemented. For we believe that it is in the interest of all European nations that Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a single, independent, democratic, and multi-ethnic state within internationally recognised borders. We welcome the progress made so far in the implementation of the civilian part of the Dayton Agreement. There are, however, delays in this process. Particularly disturbing is the failure to create conditions for the return of war refugees to their homes. Poland is also concerned with the recent developments in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which is one of the signatories of the Dayton Agreement. We hope that all political in Yugoslavia will choose the path of peaceful, democratic transformation. To conclude, Mr. Chairman, the NAC decisions of yesterday and our todays deliberations are important steps towards a new Euroatlantic security architecture.