PR 060508
6 May 2008
For immediate release
UKRAINE, NATO LEGISLATORS
BACK
“INTENSIFIED ENGAGEMENT” FOR
UKRAINE
In a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Council (UNIC)
on 5 May at NATO headquarters, parliamentarians from Ukraine and NATO member
countries expressed strong support for the AllianceÂ’s decision at the recent
Bucharest Summit to begin a process of “intensified engagement” with Ukraine
leading to an eventual offer of a Membership Action Plan (MAP). NATO officials emphasize that
NATO-Ukraine relations were progressing to a new level and that the term
intensified engagement signals a qualitatively different relationship than the
Intensified Dialogue framework.
The
Council, co-chaired by Borys TARASYUK of Ukraine and Jane CORDY of Canada, and
composed of senior legislators from Ukraine and NATO member countries, was
briefed on NATO-Ukraine political and military co-operation by permanent members
of the North Atlantic Council, including ambassadors Victoria NULAND of the
United States, Linas LINKEVICIUS of Lithuania and Boguslaw WINID of Poland, as
well as senior NATO officials, including Deputy Secretary General Claudio
BISOGNIERO and Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Jean-François
BUREAU. NATO officials stressed the historic nature of the agreement reached in
Bucharest
which states that Ukraine
will be offered a MAP in the future.
UNIC
members welcomed the increasing pace of discussion between NATO and
Ukraine
and fully supported the “open door” policy reaffirmed in
Bucharest
by Alliance Heads of State and Government.
They emphasized the right of Ukraine
to make decisions regarding its political and security alliances free from the
interference of other parties.
Parliamentarians
praised UkraineÂ’s
active contribution to collective security, particularly its participation in
all Alliance
operations. They welcomed UkraineÂ’s
aspiration to further deepen its relationship with NATO and its decision to
apply for a MAP.
Ukrainian members also called on Ukrainian authorities to make
additional efforts to provide the necessary legal framework for the countryÂ’s
further Euro-Atlantic integration, and to fully implement their countryÂ’s tasks
as stated in the Ukraine-NATO Action Plan and the yearly target plans. In particular, they stressed the need to
provide the Ukrainian public with accurate and timely information about NATO in
order to dispel old stereotypes and Cold-War-related misperceptions. Parliamentarians from NATO member
counties offered their assistance, but stressed that it is ultimately the
responsibility of Ukrainian officials and parliamentarians to make the case for
NATO membership to their public.
In
conclusion, NATO parliamentarians pledged to use every opportunity to support
Ukraine
in its progressive and irreversible path towards NATO
integration.
Place du Petit Sablon 3, 1000 Brussels,
Belgium
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Background