Opening statement

by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

NATO-Ukraine Commission at Ambassadorial level,
Monday, 9 July 2007

Good afternoon.

Ten years ago today, in Madrid, the heads of State and Government of Ukraine and the member states of NATO signed the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership, which established this commission, the NATO-Ukraine Commission.  Today we have the opportunity to celebrate all we have achieved over the past decade in the framework of this unique Partnership, and more importantly, to look ahead to the future of the NATO-Ukraine relationship.

Over the past ten years, NATO and Ukraine have steadily intensified their cooperation in strengthening security and stability throughout the Euro-Atlantic area, and we have achieved concrete results.

Ukraine, which is the only Partner state to contribute to all current NATO-led operations, has made a very important contribution to our common security, and the Alliance highly appreciates this.

The work we have accomplished together, to make Ukraine’s armed forces more modern, more capable, more interoperable with Allied forces and better suited to Ukraine’s own national security needs has yielded direct benefits for the Alliance.

In 2005, we took a major step forward in our relationship, with the launch of the Intensified Dialogue on Ukraine’s membership aspirations and relevant reforms.

The Intensified Dialogue has helped us gain greater transparency on Ukraine’s reform     efforts, and areas where NATO or individual Allies might provide assistance.

Our doors, as we have said many times, remain open.  But decisions about the future of our Distinctive Partnership are very much in the hands of Ukraine’s people and their elected leaders. 

Par son engagement constant en faveur de réformes fondamentales et un consensus politique tangible reposant sur une information complète et précise du public au sujet de l’Alliance et du partenariat OTAN-Ukraine, l’Ukraine peut atteindre ses objectifs déclarés d’intégration euro-atlantique.

Une chose reste claire.  La coopération OTAN-Ukraine a amélioré et continuera d’améliorer très concrètement la sécurité de la population ukrainienne.  

 

Les efforts menés en coopération dans le cadre du Groupe de travail conjoint sur la réforme de la défense de la COU ont renforcé le contrôle démocratique de la société civile sur les forces armées ukrainiennes.  Ces efforts doivent se poursuivre et il convient d’affecter les ressources appropriées aux tâches très ambitieuses à mener.

Permettez-moi de souligner une fois encore l’intérêt de la présente Commission en tant que forum pour un dialogue politique franc et ouvert, ainsi que l’importance d’un partenariat fort et durable entre l’OTAN et l’Ukraine.

J’invite l’Ambassadeur de l’Ukraine, Monsieur Morozov, à nous faire une déclaration liminaire.