EAPC AMBASSADORS ENDORSE RIGA SUMMIT DECISION TO

UNCLAS USNATO 000707 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MOPS NATO PREL EAPC SUBJECT: EAPC AMBASSADORS ENDORSE RIGA SUMMIT DECISION TO INVITE BALKANS THREE TO PARTNERSHIP REF: USNATO 00694 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Partner Ambassadors responded positively to NATO SYG de Hoop Scheffer's briefing on the Riga Summit on December 6, and endorsed the Alliance's November 29 invitation to Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Montenegro to join the Partnership for Peace. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Chairman, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, briefed Partner Ambassadors December 6 on the key achievements of the Riga Summit (REF). He asked the EAPC to endorse NATO,s invitation to Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH),and Montenegro to join the EAPC and Partnership for Peace (PfP). Partners Austria, Sweden, Albania, Moldova, Macedonia, Switzerland, Ireland, Finland, Croatia, Belarus, and Georgia welcomed the invitations. Several of them expressed hope that accession to PfP would reinforce democratic and defense reform efforts in the three Balkan nations. The SYG, along with Switzerland, Ireland, and Finland, specifically cited the continuing need for Serbia and BiH to meet ICTY obligations. No nation voiced misgivings about the invitations. ¶3. (U) The SYG expressed hope that the Balkan Three would attend the next EAPC Ambassadorial session in January as full Partners and EAPC members. They are scheduled to jointly sign the PfP Framework Document at NATO HQ on December 14. OLSON