The ambassadorial level session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC), held on April 25 in Brussels, highly appreciated Kyiv’s practical assistance to the efforts of the alliance member-states in combating international terrorism. The NUC’s final statement, provided The Day by the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine the following day, focuses in particular on the active participation of Ukrainian military transportation aviation in the deployment of NATO troops in Afghanistan and on the granting of an air corridor for the NATO aircraft involved in the antiterrorist operation. The commission members also discussed the situation in the Balkans. According to the final statement, Ukraine and NATO “have again confirmed their readiness to further promote the establishment of long-term stability in the Balkans.” In this context, the NATO ambassadors welcomed Kyiv’s decision to prolong participation of the Ukrainian military in the Kosovo peacekeeping force. The commission session was also attended by Deputy State Secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Ihor Kharchenko. He pointed out in his statement that NATO expansion is a weighty factor of increased European security and that NATO’s open-door policy is one of the basic components of the pan-European integration processes that help enhance the level of Ukraine’s national security within the context of its Euro-Atlantic integration policies.
The commission members also welcomed deepened cooperation between NATO and Russia. Meanwhile, in July Kyiv will host the next NUC session dedicated to the fifth anniversary of signing the Ukraine-NATO Charter.
