North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 24, 2013
NATO Secretary General takes part in United Nations General Assembly, discusses partnerships
The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen attended the start of the 68th ministerial session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Tuesday (24 September 2013). He also joined other world leaders in a lunch hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Continuing a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, the Secretary General met the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych. Mr. Fogh Rasmussen expressed his appreciation for the positive momentum in NATO-Ukraine cooperation. With the deployment of a frigate to NATO’s counter-piracy mission Ocean Shield, Ukraine contributes to all NATO-led operations, as well as to the NATO Response Force. At the same time, NATO provides significant support to Ukraine’s defence reforms through military training and education, trust funds on the destruction of excess munitions, the disposal of radioactive material, and the retraining of retired servicemen. The Secretary General reiterated that NATO Allies support Ukraine’s decision to conclude an association agreement with the EU and continue to follow closely the country’s progress on democratic reforms, including on selective justice.
The NATO Secretary General also met the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Stressing the importance of the recent constructive discussion on Syria in the NATO-Russia Council, Mr. Fogh Rasmussen spoke of the need to ensure the swift, secure and verifiable elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons stocks, and full Syrian compliance with the US-Russian framework agreement.
The Secretary General praised NATO-Russia practical cooperation in areas such as Afghanistan, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism, and looked forward to a robust work programme in 2014. He also discussed with Minister Lavrov reciprocal transparency regarding military exercises, including Russia’s ongoing Zapad 2013 and NATO’s forthcoming Steadfast Jazz.
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