18 May 2004

Ukraine’s Prime Minister meets with NATO Secretary General News 17/05/2004 - NATO Visit to NATO by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Viktor Yanukovych Background NATO-Ukraine partnership Opinions 18/05/2004 - NATO Joint point de presse by NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Mr. Viktor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Ukraine at NATO HQ Multimedia Audio file of the point de presse (.MP3/5607kb) High resolution photos Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych met NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at NATO on 18 May for talks on key aspects of cooperation and on Ukraine’s progress in implementing its reform agenda. In a joint press briefing held after the meeting, Mr. de Hoop Scheffer stressed the importance of the NATO-Ukraine relationship and expressed the Allies’ appreciation for Ukraine’s contributions to international peace-support operations in different theatres. He said NATO was hoping to build a more constructive relationship with Ukraine, in particular through the further development of Annual Target Plans. He emphasised the specific attention paid in these plans to the need to improve democratic freedoms, media freedom and the rule of law. Defence reform The Secretary General also encouraged Ukraine to push ahead with its defence reform programme and looked forward to the upcoming high-level meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on 6 and 7 June, where Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhen Marchuk will meet several of his NATO counterparts for informal consultations in this area. He hoped that this meeting would provide the venue for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine on Strategic Airlift. The Secretary General also offered his condolences to Ukraine for the loss of life and damages caused by the munitions explosions in Melitopol on 7 May. Prime Minister Yanukovych said the tragic events had highlighted the need for Ukraine to take urgent steps to eliminate surplus munitions, and expressed the hope that NATO would soon respond favorably to Ukraine's request for support in this regard. On the key issue of defence reform, Yanukovych said he hoped that draft legislation, currently under consideration by the Ukrainian parliament, would soon be adopted. He also explained that key to Ukraine’s defence reform plans were plans to reduce the size of the armed forces, stressing that resources to ensure adequate social protection for redundant military personnel would need to be made available before the cuts could be implemented. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Foreign Minister Gryshchenko and Justice Minister Lavrynovych.