Keynote Speech by NATO Deputy Secretary General,
Alessandro Minuto-Rizzo at the Diplomatic Academy, Belgrade, Serbia
19 December 2006
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me,
first of all, say how much I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you
this morning. And let me also express my sincere thanks to the
Atlantic Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for arranging
todayÂ’s meeting. I am aware that the programme was put together at
relatively short notice, so I should especially like to thank all of you
for taking the time and effort to attend.
Last
month, at their summit meeting in Riga, NATOÂ’s Heads of State and
Government decided to invite Serbia to join Partnership for Peace and the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Last week, President Tadic and
NATOÂ’s Secretary General participated in a signing ceremony at the NATO
headquarters in Brussels that marked the official entry of Serbia into
those two principal cooperative frameworks of the Alliance. And the
main purpose of my visit to Belgrade is the opening of a NATO Military
Liaison Office that should greatly facilitate our cooperation.
It is
clear for everyone to see that there is a new, promising momentum in the
relationship between NATO and Serbia. And that reflects the
positive change that we have witnessed throughout the entire Balkans
region in recent years. All across South-East Europe, countries are
moving away from radicalism and nationalism and are opting for regional
cooperation and Euro-Atlantic integration. NATO has played a full
part in promoting this positive momentum and it is committed to
continuing to do so.
Four
countries in your neighbourhood -- Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and
Slovenia have turned from active partners of the Alliance during
the 1990s, into valued member countries of NATO, and major contributors
to security and stability on this continent and beyond.
Three
other countries in this region -- Albania, Croatia and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* -- are
taking part in NATOÂ’s Membership Action Plan. We are working
closely with them in a range of areas to prepare them for possible future
NATO membership. And they know that, at the next NATO Summit in
2008, the Alliance might issue further invitations to countries who meet
NATOÂ’s performance based standards and are able to contribute to
Euro-Atlantic security and stability
During the
eleven years that NATO has been present in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
security situation there has consistently improved. Like Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, too, joined Partnership for Peace and the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council last week, as did Montenegro, and we
look forward to working with all our three new Partners and to develop
our relationship.
And so,
throughout this region, NATO is engaged in a variety of ways to assist
reform, encourage cooperation, and promote integration. We firmly
belief that full Euro-Atlantic integration is the only way for the region
to attain sustained stability, security, and economic development.
And we are determined to continue to play our part in bringing all the
countries of this region back into the European mainstream which is
where they belong.
But, of
course, NATO cannot do all the work alone. The path to integration
is most definitely not a one way street. It first and foremost
requires hard work by the countries in the region. Many of your
neighbours have implemented bold changes over the past few years.
And more recently, your country, as well, has made impressive efforts,
both in terms of domestic reform and pursuing a responsible foreign
policy.
Most
encouraging in this regard are the steps which Serbia has taken to
rebuild its ties with its neighbours and the wider international
community. In particular, I should like to commend the mature,
constructive and democratic approach that was taken by Serbia in response
to the decision by the people of Montenegro to take an independent
path.
We look
forward to a similarly constructive approach next year which, as you all
know, is going to be a crucial year for the future of Kosovo. A
final settlement of KosovoÂ’s status issue is very much in SerbiaÂ’s
interests, because it will improve stability in the whole of South-East
Europe. And it will significantly enhance SerbiaÂ’s prospects -- as
well as those of the entire region -- for further integration into the
Euro-Atlantic community of nations.
NATO and
Serbia have a solid basis on which to develop their relationship.
For the past few years, under a tailored cooperation programme, this
country has been able to benefit from assistance in areas as diverse as
defence reform; defence planning, budgeting and resource management;
conceptual, planning and operational aspects of peacekeeping; the fight
against terrorism and illegal trafficking; logistics; and language
training.
There is
also the NATO-Serbia Defence Reform Group. This group provides
advice and assistance to the Serbian authorities to enable them to reform
and modernise SerbiaÂ’s armed forces and to build a modern, affordable and
democratically controlled defence structure here in Serbia.
We have
also been working together successfully in the context of several NATO
Trust Funds in order to address a number of very specific problems,
including the destruction of landmines and small arms and light weapons,
and the retraining of redundant military personnel.
Finally,
we also have an agreement in place on transit arrangements for peace
support operations, notably NATOÂ’s engagement in Kosovo. Given the
crucial, stabilising role of our military presence there, Belgrade shares
that interest. And this agreement is another very strong indicator
of how relations between Serbia and NATO are moving closer both in
practical terms, and politically.
So there
is already a lot of cooperation for us to build upon. And this
cooperation was given a very visible and concrete face when, yesterday, I
officially opened the NATO Military Liaison Office here in
Belgrade. The timing of the opening of this new office could
not have been better, because it will greatly facilitate the increased
cooperation that will undoubtedly flow from the new stage in our
relationship.
The
tailored cooperation programme that I just mentioned will now be
superseded by detailed programmes that are an integral part of the
Partnership for Peace. A number of powerful and tested tools will
be available to help Serbia to further reform its security and defence
structures and institutions. These include opportunities for
assistance that is specifically geared to your countryÂ’s needs and
concerns, as well as the possibility to benefit from NATOÂ’s enormous
expertise in military training and defence education.
At the
same time, partnership is about far more than defence and security
reform. It also offers a unique opportunity for political dialogue
and consultation on key security concerns, and not just with the 26 NATO
Allies, but the 22 other Partner countries of the Alliance as
well.
Partnership
with NATO offers Serbia the opportunity to work together much more
closely -- politically as well as militarily -- with almost fifty
countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, stretching from the United
States to Russia, and from Ireland to Kazakhstan. And that will be
a significant further step for Serbia along the path to Euro-Atlantic
integration.
Let me
conclude by emphasising that membership in Partnership for Peace and the
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council brings Serbia considerable benefits,
but also responsibilities. And these responsibilities include
adherence to the values and principles set out in the relevant basic
documents which President Tadic signed in Brussels last week.
Values and principles that underpin the Alliance itself: democracy, the
individual liberty and the rule of law.
It is in
this spirit that NATO Allies expect Serbia to cooperate fully with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. They
will closely follow Serbian efforts in this regard. And NATO
will also be expecting Serbia to play a full and active role in ensuring
long term peace and stability in the entire Western Balkans
region.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, in
a world of globalised insecurity, the 26 NATO Allies are defending their
security and their common values in new ways and in new places.
NATO is involved in peacekeeping operations in places as far away as
Afghanistan. We are training Iraqi security forces, and we support
the African Union in its efforts to bring an end to the violence and
suffering in Darfur.
These are
the NATO activities that dominate the headlines. But let me
reassure you that none of these activities will divert us from our
commitment to help the countries of this region in realising their
Euro-Atlantic ambitions.
The time
has come for NATO and Serbia to leave behind a difficult past, and to
establish a closer, more productive relationship. By entering into
Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Serbia
has made clear that it wishes to move into that direction to
continue on the reform path, to become a real producer of security, and a
responsible member of the Euro-Atlantic community of nations. Full
Euro-Atlantic integration is in SerbiaÂ’s interest, as well as
NATOÂ’s. And I am convinced that, together, we can achieve
it.
Thank
you.
* Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its
constitutional name.