Statement
by
NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson,
at the Joint Point de Presse with the Ukrainian Defence Minister, Gen.
Volodymyr Shkidchenko, following the NATO-Ukraine Commission Meeting
at the Level of the Defence Ministers
Welcome to this point de presse following
the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting of defence ministers. I am joined by
Gen. Volodymyr Shkidchenko, the Minister of Defence of Ukraine.
Today's meeting took place against the background of Ukraine's reaffirmation
of its aspirations for close Euro-Atlantic integration.
These aspirations enjoy the strong support of NATO. In fact, last month
in Reykjavik the NATO Foreign Ministers came out strongly in favour of
developing our relationship with Ukraine to a qualitatively new level.
We will be ready to elaborate the details of this deeper relationship
by the NATO-Ukraine Commission summit meeting in Prague in November.
Meanwhile we are fully occupied with a very busy agenda of practical
work.
Ministers today discussed the report of the Joint Working Group on Defence
Reform. Minister Shkidchenko brought to the table a very ambitious menu
of Ukrainian proposals on how to further reinvigorate and enrich this
process. These proposals received a very favourable response from the
NATO Ministers.
I will leave it to Minister Shkidchenko to talk about his plans for Ukrainian
defence review. I would like to stress a few important points from NATO's
perspective.
The experience of NATO members on defence reform strongly suggests that
appropriate resource levels and a sustained commitment to change are absolutely
key elements of success. NATO Ministers who have some experience in this
field suggested that defence reform and a defence review may be very necessary
but they are not necessarily popular in the short term. The NATO countries
are ready to offer help and advice, but they key reponsibility for carrying
this through lies with the Ukrainian Government. But it is a responsibility
that has to be shared between all of the authorities - both civilian and
military - the translation of good intentions into concrete deeds is difficult
but it is absolutely vital.
We today reviewed and commended the wide range of bilateral assistance
programmes between Ukraine and the NATO Allies and we will continue to
support this bilateral cooperation. The aim of all of this is to get better
value for the Ukrainian taxpayer for what is allocated to defence.
We are approaching the 5th anniversary of the distinctive partnership
between NATO and Ukraine and it has been a real success. Together, NATO
and Ukraine can contribute even more to international efforts responding
to contemporary security challenges.
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