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NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council discusses the situation
in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo, stressing the importance of peace
talks at Rambouillet and urging the parties to work responsibly and intensively
to achieve
an interim political agreement. |
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Both houses of the Polish parliament vote overwhelmingly in
favour of NATO membership. |
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First
PfP Training Centre
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Last week, the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Training Centre in Ankara
became the first facility that has been officially designated as such
by NATO. The Centre aims to enhance military cooperation and interoperability,
that is to say, equipment compatibility and practical working conditions
between the armed forces of NATO and Partner countries.
The Centre has been designated as a PfP Training Centre in accordance
with the Concept for PfP Training Centres adopted in November 1998
by the North Atlantic Council -NATO's highest decision-making body.
The Concept allows national high quality training facilities to apply
for recognition by the North Atlantic Council as a PfP Training Centre.
The recognised PfP Training Centres offer courses and other training
opportunities to the 44 member countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council. |
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Secretary
General in Skopje and Sarajevo
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On 18-19 February, NATO Secretary, Dr Javier Solana, and General
Wesley Clark went to Skopje to discuss the Kosovo crisis with President
Kiro Gligorov and Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski of the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1). They then proceeded
to visit NATO's Extraction Force based in Kumanovo before flying
to Sarajevo to meet the three-member presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the High Representative Ambassador Westendorp as well as other
representatives of international agencies involved in the implementation
of the Peace Accords.
1. Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia
with its constitutional name.
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Kosovo
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Following the conclusion of the Rambouillet talks, NATO Secretary
General, Dr Javier Solana, issued a statement, the main points of
which are summarised below.
NATO welcomes the substantial progress made in the Kosovo Peace
Talks in Rambouillet and looks forward to the Implementation Conference
on 15th March, 1999. In the meantime it calls upon the parties to
respect the cease-fire, refrain from all provocations and carry
out their obligations under the UNSC resolutions on Kosovo. The
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia must also comply fully with the commitments
made last year to NATO in respect of levels of forces in Kosovo.
NATO remains ready to lead a multi-national peacekeeping force
with broad participation to implement and enforce the military aspects
of an interim agreement and to contribute to creating an environment
for the implementation of the civil aspects. The Secretary General
has called upon both parties to build on the considerable progress
achieved at Rambouillet and to seize the opportunity to achieve
a lasting peace.
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