[Ohio UZO News] NATO statement final.doc

[Volodymyr H. Bodnar]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew J. Futey <ajfutey at ameritech.net>
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Subject: NATO statement final.doc

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[image: Text Box:]*Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Inc. *

    *UKRAINIAN NATIONAL INFORMATION SERVICE*

311 Massachusetts Ave., N.E

Washington, D.C.20002

Phone: (202) 547-0018

Fax: (202) 543-5502

* *
     *NATIONAL OFFICE*

                       203 Second Ave.

                 New York, N.Y. 10003

            Phone: (212) 228-6840/6841

                   Fax: (212) 254-4721





*Statement of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of
America                         on the eve of the April 2009 NATO Summit*

On April 3-4, 2009, a NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government will be
held in Baden-Baden and Kehl, Germany, and in Strasbourg, France.  The
issues of security for the states of the Alliance as well as the future
chartered course of NATO will dominate the discussions at the Summit.
During the consultations regarding the armed military conflicts and energy
security issues which have arisen since the last NATO Summit in Bucharest,
the NATO allies must find strength and resolve in their consideration of
Ukraine's geo-strategic interests and security guarantees. "A Europe, whole
and free," as described by former President George Bush, includes Ukraine,
for without her, Europe could once again be riddled with divisions and
unnecessary dilemmas.

Since independence, Ukraine has been a loyal and staunch ally of the West in
general and the United States in particular. By voluntarily relinquishing
the world’s third largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, joining the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state, and actively
participating in multinational NATO-led peacekeeping operations, Ukraine has
proven its commitment and shown itself to be a responsible partner for
international peace.

In October 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama, wrote, “I fully
support the efforts of Ukraine’s citizens to build a stable, independent,
and democratic Ukraine, integrated into Europe and contributing to
transatlantic security. The United States must work closely with our
European allies to accelerate and deepen Ukraine’s integration into the
West. Ukraine is ready for a NATO Membership Action Plan: I pledge to work
with America’s allies to build agreement among them for taking this next key
step in Ukraine’s efforts to earn its rightful place as a member of the
Euro-Atlantic community.”

Subsequently, in December 2008, the United States and Ukraine signed a *Charter
on Strategic Partnership*, which indicates their “mutual desire to
strengthen our relationship across the economic, political, diplomatic,
cultural and security fields.” And most recently, during her March 2009 trip
to Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, proclaimed,
"We [Western allies] should continue to open NATO’s door to European
countries such as Georgia and Ukraine."



Therefore, prior to the upcoming April NATO Summit, the Ukrainian Congress
Committee of America (UCCA), the representative organization of the 1.5
million Americans of Ukrainian descent, urges U.S. officials to reaffirm the
Bucharest summit’s language, whereby NATO stated, “NATO welcomes Ukraine’s
and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO.  We agreed
today that these countries will become members of NATO… MAP is the next step
for Ukraine and Georgia on their direct way to membership.  Today we make
clear that we support these countries’ applications for MAP.”

Should similar language not be included in the 2009 statement, NATO will be
perceived as abandoning its commitment to Ukraine and capitulating to an
unacceptable Russian veto. Such a capitulation will send the wrong message
to Russia, one of tacit approval of its aggressive, anti-democratic
behaviors of the past year.  Russia must not be permitted to isolate Ukraine,
and other former soviet states, from the West.

Furthermore, U.S. officials should make clear that the Alliance does not
accept the concept of a sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space and
that Russia’s recently declared foreign policy principles including a sphere
of “privileged interests,” does not give Moscow the right to dictate foreign
policy choices of its neighbors.

Russia, both directly and through its surrogates, has attempted derail
Ukraine's western course of democracy and security. Yet despite the
substantial pressures exerted by Moscow, Ukraine has continued to
steadfastly work towards its goal of integration into Euro-Atlantic
structures. Ukraine's inclusion in these structures clearly serves our
national interests. The security of the United States lies in the expansion
of democracy, not in the appeasement of Russia.
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