Yushchenko tells NATO summit of Ukraine's European aspirations (02/27/05)

Yushchenko tells NATO summit of Ukraine's European aspirations

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Viktor Yushchenko told an annual summit meeting of NATO leaders that he wants Ukraine to be a part of the European Union, NATO and Euro-Atlantic organizations.

"We want to see Ukraine integrated into both the European Union and the North Atlantic alliance," Mr. Yushchenko said following his meeting with leaders of the 26-member alliance, according to various news media.

Referring to the millions of Ukrainians who stood on Ukraine's Independence Square in protest against the falsified November 21, 2004, election, Mr. Yushchenko, said the Ukrainian people rallied because they wanted to be a part of Europe.

"The people who came into Kyiv's squares and streets were motivated by wanting to see Ukraine as a European country," President Yushchenko said during a press conference at the alliance headquarters in Brussels.

The announcement, made on the day of the NATO summit on February 22, followed the Ukrainian president's first meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, who, for his part, asked that European nations welcome Ukraine "into the Euro-Atlantic" family.

"The meeting with President Yushchenko was, I thought, historic," Mr. Bush said. "We welcomed President Yushchenko and reminded him that NATO is a performance-based organization, and that the door is open, but it's up to President Yushchenko and his government and the people of Ukraine to adapt the institutions of a democratic state. And NATO wants to help, and we pledged help."

Mr. Bush, who called the discussion with Mr. Yushchenko "fruitful" and a "remarkable moment," said he thought it was interesting to be seated next to a person "who had just led a revolution, a peaceful revolution, based upon the same values that we hold dear."

The American president added that Ukraine had some additional steps to take before it could join the alliance, "but we want to help them achieve that work."

Mr. Yushchenko, the only non-NATO president to meet with alliance leaders during the summit, also sought to reassure Russia that Ukraine would not turn its back on its northern neighbor.

"Russia is our strategic partner," the Ukrainian president said. "Ukrainian policy toward NATO will not, by any means, be directed against Russia or any other country."

Ukraine received support at the summit meeting from other countries as well. European officials greeted the Ukrainian president warmly and said that if Ukraine wanted to integrate with European institutions it was up to Kyiv to do so.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance had an "open door policy" on entry to democracies that meet membership criteria, though he offered no date for Ukraine's inclusion.

NATO also announced a Partnership for Peace Trust Fund project that is meant to help Ukraine destroy stockpiles of surplus munitions, small arms and light weapons, as well as rocket-propelled anti-aircraft missiles called MANPADs. The announcement was made in a statement released over the Internet on February 19. (See text of related U.S. statement above.)

According to the release, Ukraine had requested assistance in eliminating 133,000 tons of munitions and 1.5 million small arms and light weapons, many of which are stored in the open.

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