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 10.07.2003 07:40
- Now NATO and Ukraine are past one successfully accomplished project that may be referred to defense and industrial cooperation. This year 400,000 antipersonnel mines have been utilized. When can the second project utilization of 1.5 million rifles and 133,000 ammunition units be launched? - Now Brussels is considering a feasibility study for this project. This is a 200-page document but the final decision regarding the project is discussed by NATO countries. Expert groups have finished their work, made conclusions and are now proposing NATO countries to consider financing for the project. Since such project is run within the Alliance trust fund, that means certain countries will finance their operation on their own. Particularly, the feasibility study was financed by Greece, Germany and Turkey, which are donors of this project. There is no information yet on when the above-mentioned small arms and ammunition will be practically terminated. - Sharply a year ago during his visit to Kyiv NATO's Secretary General George Robertson said Verkhovna Rada's ratification of the agreement between the government of Ukraine and NATO on protection of secret information is to entail signing of the Memorandum on strategic air transportation from the side of Brussels, which provides for the use of Ukrainian planes for the sake of the Alliance. Meanwhile, on June 12 a dozen of NATO member-countries have signed a letter of intent to use An-124-100 plane in transportation. However, the letter of intent is not a binding document unlike the Memorandum. Why is the signing of this document is delayed? - As far as I know NATO's and Ukraine's experts are holding talks. The delay can be explained with the need to specify some important details. - Can the fact that NATO's legal advisor is in the U.S. influence drafting this document? - This advisor often visits Ukraine and holds very efficient talks. -Within the Prague Capabilities Commitment, Ukraine has already offered its capacities for strategic air transportation. Is NATO interested in any other Ukrainian capabilities for strengthening the Alliance potential? - First of all, it should be noted the Prague Capabilities Commitment concerns only NATO member-countries and newly invited countries. The sense of the process lies in improving the efficiency of the Alliance's military capacities in order to be ready to respond to threats nearby. These include terrorism and creation of mass destruction weapons. There were working groups set up in Prague, one of them on strategic transport aviation. This group that is chaired by Germany and comprised by 12 NATO countries arrived at conclusion that today the best way to improve strategic air transportation opportunities is to sign the letter of intent. And later to sign an agreement on the use of An-124-100 on a bilateral basis between NATO countries and Ukraine. - Is there a chance for cooperation between the Ukrainian defense and industrial complex and NATO countries in upgrade of Soviet weapons or in creation of new arms and weapons? If not, what hampers such cooperation? - Cooperation in the defense and industrial field is based on relations between NATO countries. The Alliance does not play a great role here. Nevertheless, a meeting of Ukraine-NATO Joint working group for weapons is expected this year. No doubt, it will be interesting to see at what conclusions participants of this meeting will arrive. It should be noted the issue of weapons appeared in the Target Plan only this year. - Public surveys of the past year or two show the trust in NATO is not really growing, while a quarter of all the questioned Ukrainians speaks for accession to the Alliance. Do you think this has to do with poor familiarity of Ukrainian population [with the issue] or any other factors? What, in your opinion, should be done by Ukrainian authorities to improve the public trust in NATO? - I believe the trust in NATO is growing. When I read the data of Razumkov Center surveys, I can see this growth: 24% support Ukraine's accession to NATO. Several months ago this was 19%. The same situation was once in Poland. The surveys there showed only 30% would voted for accession to NATO. Here it goes of the policy in the field of information. I thinks the best advocates for Ukraine's accession to the Euro-Atlantic structures: NATO and the EU are Ukrainians themselves. We do not want to propagate this idea too much because it will the choice of people of Ukraine after all. Accession to this organization is not an easy decision, it is nearly for ever. This means transformation of society. Our part is to provide so much information for the choice to be made not with emotions but with arguments. During the year we held more information seminars, circulated more newsletters. The number of translations into Ukrainian has also been increased in order to give access to information in Ukrainian. Surely, we welcome the declaration on creation of Ukraine-NATO public information center that we will support. There is an unofficial consensus of public organization to go in the same direction, putting into life the European choice. I think the role of this center will be decisive in spreading, assuring and demonstrating. It goes not only of words, but of future well-being of the Ukrainian population and of the whole of Europe. Possibly I am idealistic but I think the point is in integration of all democratic countries and Ukraine will be a part of this integration. -Will the experience of former candidates to NATO be used in promoting Ukraine's accession to the Alliance? - As I have already said we will support the public information center being created. Concerning the strategy of this center, NATO will support exchange of experience between new Alliance member-countries and Ukraine. So that they can show mistakes they made for Ukraine not to have them repeated. One should not say how to do, but what mistakes were made in order not to have them reiterated. Surely, Ukraine has its peculiarities and this should be considered. - Now the Alliance is in transformation, certain structures are being cut, others uniting. Due to the upcoming retirement of NATO's Secretary General George Robertson a shift of leadership or, in other words, of the team in NATO's Headquarters is expected. Will this influence the activity of NATO's Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine? - Surely, when someone speaks of transformation of structures, they are changing. But I am glad the time of these transformations concurs with holidays. Nevertheless, I want to mark NATO is a political organization whose policy ids decided upon through a consensus among the countries. Therefore the shift of the team does not mean the change of policy since the policy has been endorsed in the previously adopted documents. And we, as members of the Secretariat, are engaged in implementation of this policy. - As known, NATO decided to assist Poland that will control one of the Iraqi sectors in composition of the stabilizing forces there. Will NATO grant any support to Ukraine that will send nearly 1,800 its servicemen at disposal of the "Polish" multinational brigade? - Indeed, NATO will support Poland with its resources, especially in planning and logistics. At the same time the very fact that Ukraine is a world security donor will have a positive reflection on its image. However there is no link between Ukraine's possible accession to NATO and participation of Ukrainian troops in Iraq. The most important for us are concepts and political priorities laid down in the Action Plan. Mykola Syruk, Defense Express 
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