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Kofi
Annan at NATO
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The growing cooperation between the United Nations (UN) and NATO
was further reinforced on 28 January, with the visit of the UN Secretary
General, Kofi Annan, to NATO. This was the first time a UN Secretary
General had ever made an official visit to NATO HQ, Brussels. He
addressed NATO's highest decision-making body: the North Atlantic
Council, at which each NATO member country is represented. The three
Invitee countries - the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - were
also present at this particular meeting where the main issues raised
were Bosnia and the crisis in Kosovo.
NATO Secretary General issues a statement in support of the Contact
Group’s proposals to mediate the conclusion of an interim political
settlement in Kosovo within a speci-fied timeframe. NATO decides
to increase its military pre-paredness to ensure the demands of
the international community are met.
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information:
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Fighting
off the millennium bug
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In NATO's continued efforts to tackle the "Y2K problem"
known as the millennium bug , a workshop has been organised on 29
January. (On 1 January 2000, many computer systems will malfunction
or produce incorrect information because of the way computer systems
store and manipulate dates).
Russia has accepted to participate in this particular workshop
during which information will be exchanged on all facets of the
problem, including software, contingency planning, testing, certification
and lessons learned to date. At the end of last year, NATO and Partner
countries were invited to cooperate in order to improve ways of
facing this world-wide preoccupation.
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Kosovo
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The international community has now set a timeframe to bring conflicting
parties in Kosovo to the negotiating table. As a result of the Contact
Group meeting on Friday 29 January (involving France, Germany, Italy,
Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), the government
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and the Kosovars have
been "summoned to begin negotiations" at Rambouillet,
France, by 6 February 1999. These negotiations are to lead to "an
interim political settlement" within two weeks, as from the
first meeting on 6 February.
NATO has announced that it is prepared to support these peace efforts
with military force, if necessary, including the use of air strikes
against targets on FRY territory should both parties refuse to comply
with the conditions set out by the international community. President
Slobodan Milosevic and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) now face
the combined pressure of the United Nations, NATO, the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and the
Contact Group.
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The North Atlantic Council authorises air strikes on the territory of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and delegates authority for implementing
this decision to the Secretary General of NATO in case of non-compliance
with the demands of the international community. The Council announces
that appropriate measures will also be taken if the Kosovar Albanian side
fails to comply.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Robin Cook flies to Belgrade and issues
warnings to President Milosevic to stop the killings or face NATO air
strikes against Serbian positions responsible for conducting repression
in Kosovo.
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information:
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NATO's
50th anniversary
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As the dates are firmly set for NATO's major Summit meeting in
Washington, on 23-25 April, the Secretary General, Dr Javier Solana
has stated: "It will not just be a 50th birthday party - champagne
and all. The Summit will map NATO's way ahead into the new century".
He was speaking at the Aspen Institute in Berlin, 1 February, having
been invited to deliver the Institute's Wallenberg Lecture.
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information:
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