Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 7, 2014
Ukraine Proposes to Host NATO Council Meeting
BRUSSELS: Ukraine’s interim prime minister said on Thursday he has invited NATO Council to hold a meeting in Kiev over the recent developments in the political crisis in the country.
“I invited the North Atlantic Council to visit Kiev and hold a meeting there,” Arseny Yatsenyuk said during a visit to Brussels, where he met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and EU officials.
“We believe that it will strengthen our cooperation,” Yatsenyuk said.
He also reiterated Ukraine’s request for additional military aid from NATO “to strengthen the country’s defenses on the technical level.”
Ukraine earlier appealed for assistance from NATO, asking the alliance to use all possible measures to ensure the country’s territorial integrity and protect its people following the approval by Russia’s parliament of the deployment of military forces in Ukraine.
The political crisis in the former Soviet republic has led to the current standoff between Russia and the West over the fate of Crimea, an autonomous Ukrainian region with a majority ethnic Russian population.
Crimean authorities have refused to recognize as legitimate the new central government in Kiev, which ousted President Viktor Yanukovych late last month, and on Thursday they announced a decision to become part of Russia.
…
==============================================
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
March 6, 2014
Secretary General assures Ukrainian Prime Minister that NATO stands by Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk on Thursday (6 March 2014) that “in these difficult moments, NATO stands by Ukraine. NATO stands by the right of every nation to decide its own future. NATO stands by Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and by the fundamental principles of international law”.
The Secretary General and the Prime Minister discussed the grave developments in Ukraine and how NATO and Ukraine can strengthen their partnership. The Secretary General said the crisis in Ukraine “presents serious implications for the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area as a whole.” He added that the crisis is the gravest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War.
Mr. Fogh Rasmussen stressed that the Alliance intends to step up its partnership cooperation through the NATO-Ukraine Commission to support democratic reforms. This will include bolstering ties with Ukraine’s political and military leadership, strengthening efforts to build the capacity of the Ukrainian military and more joint training and exercises. NATO will also do more to include Ukraine in its multinational projects to develop capabilities.
The NATO Secretary General commended the people of Ukraine for their determination and courage and for the restraint shown by the Ukraine armed forces, and reiterated that a political solution is the only way out of the crisis.
“Above all, we call on Russia to honour its international commitments and halt the military escalation in Crimea. We call on Russia to withdraw its forces to their bases, and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine. There should be no attempt to draw new lines on the map of Europe in the 21st century”, Mr. Fogh Rasmussen concluded.