Interfax-Ukraine
September 4, 2014
NATO to address issues of enhancing partnership with Ukraine at summit in Wales – Rasmussen
NATO and Ukraine, during the alliance’s summit in Newport (Wales), will discuss steps towards the strengthening of their partnership, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.
“We will have a meeting with [Ukrainian] President [Petro] Poroshenko today, and we will be able to outline concrete steps to enhance our partnership,” he told reporters before the opening of the NATO summit in Newport, when asked whether the possibility of Ukraine’s membership of NATO will be discussed at the summit.
Rasmussen also said that Russian aggression against Ukraine would be one of the main issues on the agenda of the summit.
“We continue to call on Russia to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s borders, stop the flow of weapons and fighters into Ukraine, stop the support for armed militants in Ukraine and engage in a constructive political process,” he said.
…
As reported, Poroshenko will attend the NATO summit in Wales.
====================================================================
Interfax-Ukraine
September 4, 2014
Poroshenko to speak at NATO summit, attend NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting – press service
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will attend the NATO summit in Britain on September 4-5, the press service of the head of state has reported.
“The president is expected to speak at a meeting of the heads of state and government of the alliance, attend a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, as well as hold a number of meetings,” reads the report.
According to the report, in Newport, Wales, Poroshenko will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and French President Francois Hollande.
He will also have bilateral meetings with the presidents of France, Poland and Turkey, as well as the prime ministers of Britain, Canada, the U.S. secretary of state and the secretary general of the alliance.
The NATO summit involves the heads of state and government of the alliance’s 28 member countries. According to a statement released on the NATO Web site, the key themes of the event will be Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, and the situations in the Middle East and North Africa.
The summit will begin with an official meeting on Afghanistan, which will also be attended by Ukraine as a contributor country.
It will be followed by a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, which is to be attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On September 5, NATO leaders will discuss the alliance’s ability to respond to current security risks and future challenges.
The alliance’s defense and foreign ministers will hold parallel meetings. These will include talks with the four countries that aspire to join NATO and a meeting with other international organizations to discuss security challenges.
According to the statement, the summit will be one of the largest NATO has ever organized. Leaders and ministers from around 60 countries in total will attend, including senior representatives from 33 partner countries and international organizations (the United Nations, the OSCE and the EU).
The defense and foreign ministers of the NATO countries will also hold parallel negotiations.
Source