NATO MEMBER AND PARTNER CHIEFS OF DEFENCE
CONCLUDE MEETINGS
BRUSSELS -- Chiefs of defence from the 26
NATO member nations today wrapped up two days of intensive discussions at NATO
Headquarters on a wide range of military-related issues. Chiefs of defence
and/or senior officers from 30 partner nations also attended the final day of
meetings, in Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, NATO-Ukraine, and
NATO-Russia formats.
“We made progress on a number of key issues on the
Alliance’s military agenda,” said Gen. Ray
Henault, Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, and NATO’s top officer. “We
reviewed all our ongoing operations, particularly in Afghanistan, and discussed
ways and means to continue work to transform our processes, organization and
work as needed to meet today’s requirements and tomorrow’s challenges.
The NATO chiefs of defence also assessed progress on Kosovo and the
Balkans, the training mission in Iraq, naval counter terrorism operations
in the Mediterranean, and support to the African Union
mission in Darfur.
“We took stock of the situation in
Afghanistan, which is this organization’s
number one operational priority,” said Henault. “We remain committed to
providing security to allow the extension of Aghan government authority across
the country, and to allow sustainable reconstruction and development efforts to
take hold. We also confirmed our support to continue development of
military-to-military relations with Afghanistan’s neighbours, particularly with
Pakistan – which have shown marked
improvement recently – through the vehicle of the Tripartite Commission and
other means.”
“Real challenges remain for the foreseeable future, but we have good
reason for optimism at the overall progress country-wide of military related
aspects of the Afghanistan mission, including the development
of the Afghan National Army,” continued Henault. “NATO has 37,000 well-trained,
well-equipped and well-led men and women operating throughout the country, and
that figure continues to grow. In the south in particular, we have seized the
initiative, consolidated gains from last year’s operations and activities, and
have strong momentum from this spring heading into summer. That said, we remain
concerned about progress to develop the Afghan National Police, as that is such
an important element of day-to-day local and regional security. We agreed to
look at some ways and means to enhance military support and thereby help build
more capability in this national institution.”
“The Military Committee agreed that resourcing the training and liaison
teams for the Afghan National Army is a key priority. These units, which provide
a much needed mentoring and support function, are a top NATO military priority
that need to be fielded if we are to further help develop the structures
necessary to allow Afghans to eventually provide for their own security,” said
Henault.
Chiefs of defence were also informed of the current situation in Kosovo,
then assessed and guided the development of the NATO military plan through to
the post-transition period. This work is being done in close cooperation with
counterparts in the European Union.
Operational support issues were also on the agenda, and the meetings
continued the work stemming from political decisions at
Riga and the recent meeting of NATO
foreign affairs ministers in Oslo. The Military Committee discussed
ways to further develop policy to improve the manner and way the Alliance plans,
conducts and coordinates operations in practical, on-the-ground terms at all
levels with partners, the UN, non-governmental organizations, and local actors
in all phases of a conflict.
Military chiefs also discussed ways to improve long-term implementation
of the NATO Response Force, and the status of the comprehensive review of the
NATO command structure.
“Financial resources and the establishment review of NATO’s command
structure are two key, interlinked activities that will increasingly focus the
work of the Military Committee,” said Henault.
“NATO is doing more than ever before, with more partners, further afield,
and in complex environments. In
Afghanistan, this involves work to facilitate
reconstruction, help build capacity in Afghan security forces, and when
required, conduct combat operations. Zero-growth or limited growth in military
budgeting in the face of doing more, means we need to take stock of our
priorities to ensure our money is efficiently and effectively spent on those
operational aspects that nations assign most value to. At the same time, the
Military Committee will continue to assess how the current NATO military
headquarters and command structures need to be adjusted in order to conduct
future operations and missions in accordance with the new level of ambition
established by Ministerial Guidance 2006.”
“We had particularly
informative sessions with our partners,” continued Henault. “Partners provide
significant military capability to all our operations. We were particularly
pleased to receive briefings from Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, two aspirant nations; the Republic of Serbia, one of the newest
Partnership for Peace members; and Switzerland.”
Discussions with Mediterranean Dialogue nations focused on operations,
including NATO’s only Article 5 defence-of-the-Alliance mission, Operation
Active Endeavour, being conducted in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Ukranian chief of defence and his NATO counterparts discussed
improvements in the operational capabilities of the armed forces of
Ukraine, and assessed the NATO-Ukraine work
plan.
“I had a useful and warm bilateral discussion with Gen. Baluyevskyi ahead
of the final session of the day,” said Henault. “And, during the NATO-Russia
Council meeting with all chiefs of defence, we exchanged views on our
cooperation efforts, and reviewed progress on the NATO-Russia work plan for
2007.”
”The NATO-Russia Council with military chiefs of defence has been a
productive forum for almost five years now for consultation with 27 equal
partners,” said Henault. “Our
discussion today focused on the ways and means to continue building on our
mutually beneficial, practical military-to-military cooperation activities to
develop interoperability. Last summer, for example, Russia began supporting
NATO’s anti-terrorism mission [in the Mediterranean], which is but one example
of how much our military-to-military relationship has
evolved.”
“In the course of the meeting, Gen. Baluyevskyi explained and clarified
the Russian position on a number of matters, including missile defence and on
the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was useful. In response, Allies
re-stated the NATO positions, including our collective commitment to the CFE
Treaty as a cornerstone of European security. We welcomed the opportunity to
continue to discuss issues of common interest with a view to better appreciating
our respective positions. It was an open and mature
dialogue.”
The meetings of the NATO Military Committee at the level of Chiefs of
Defence Staff take place three times a year, including twice in
Brussels. Once a year, the meeting is
convened in a member country: in the fall of 2007, this will be in
Canada.
Gen. Henault confirmed to
the Military Committee that he would retire next summer after a 40-year career,
and on conclusion of a mandated three-year tenure as NATO’s senior military
officer. The next Chairman will be elected by the NATO chiefs of defence at the
November 2007 meeting in Brussels.