Statement

by Ambassador Kostiantyn Morozov, Head of the Ukrainian Mission to NATO

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

Esteemed members of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, Dear friends,

Signing 10 years ago of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership without exaggeration became a remarkable event of a geopolitical significance for Euro-Atlantic community.

Signing the Charter became an important foreign policy breakthrough for Ukraine. It proved international recognition of a young Ukrainian state and its role for ensuring the regional peace and stability.

Here I would like to mention all my predecessors whose work made a basis for today's celebrations. The process of building up Ukraine's relations with NATO was started by the first representative of Ukraine in NACC Ambassador Vasylenko. During the assignment of Ambassador Tarasiuk - the Charter was negotiated and signed. His successors ambassadors Gryschenko and Khandogiy made their best to implement the ideas of this document, to fill it with practical substance.

Now, we establish a fact that the Charter equipped Ukraine-NATO relations with qualitatively new mechanisms, which still retain their highest validity and priority.

Established in the framework of the Charter NATO-Ukraine Commission, as well as Joint Working Groups have provided excellent opportunities for consultations on the whole range of Ukraine_NATO interest issues. Active military cooperation, in particular Ukraine's participation in NATO-led operations, reinforced our partnership and proved its importance for strengthening international peace and stability.

Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and Alliance gave us a possibility to better understand each other. As a result, Ukraine came to a conclusion of a need for much deeper integration with NATO - up to the level of membership.

Today, 10 years after the Charter was signed, I may say with pride that the institute of Ukraine-NATO Distinctive Partnership proved to be successful and useful for all sides - both participants of this process as well as for whole Euro-Atlantic community

Thank you.