Volodymyr Lytvyn: Ukraine is interested in extending Political Dialogue and Practical Cooperation with NATO
Volodymyr
Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met Dirk Brengelmann,
NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy.
The participants of the meeting exchanged their opinions on the role of parliament in Ukraine in support of the constructive dialogue with NATO.
Namely, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine V. Lytvyn stated that development of an efficient partnership with the Alliance is an essential element of Ukrainian policy in the sphere of security and defense. The partnership, according to the Chair, is focused on practical results and facilitates achievement of the leading standards in the sphere of defense. "Despite some changes to the Law of Ukraine "On Fundamentals of the National and Foreign Policy" regarding cooperation with NATO, cooperation with this organization is strategic. We are aware of the fact that NATO is our reality, even a global reality, hence, we are interested in strengthening the political dialogue to intensify practical cooperation", Volodymyr Lytvyn declared.
V. Lytvyn considers development of practical dialogue with NATO a priority of Ukraine. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada stressed that despite the discussions in the parliament, a number of positive decisions were adopted. As an example he mentioned the decision to hold the military trainings with the participation of the armed forces subdivisions of NATO member states in the territory of Ukraine. "When the People´s Deputies adopted this decision, they understood the necessity to use all forms and instruments of cooperation to strengthen defensive capacity of Ukraine", the Chairman of the Parliament believes.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his content with the rate of the parliamentary cooperation with NATO member states, namely, with NATO Parliamentary Assembly. "We are working extremely efficiently and expect your visit to our state to broaden the scope of our relations", he emphasized. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada explained, "We pay special attention to the activity of Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council, as in its framework we can exchange opinions on different issues and problems." He is convinced that cooperation with NATO is "not only security matters, but also social and political issues closely connected with the life in our state."
In his turn, Mr Brengelmann hopes for further strengthening of the dialogue with Ukraine. He reminded of the work upon the cooperation program for 2012. Among key directions of common work he mentioned preparation for the football championship in 2012.
According to him, a group of experts will visit Ukraine soon to assist on security matters during the event preparation.
The Head of the Ukrainian Parliament stated that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will develop the relations between Ukraine and NATO in line with the national interests and requirements for the European security and stability. V. Lytvyn considers development and support of political dialogue to be an essential step on the way towards fruitful cooperation with NATO. "We will provide regional security, cooperation in the sphere of military reforms, and democratic institutions of supremacy of law", V. Lytvyn declared.