NATO-UKRAINE AMBASSADORIAL APRIL 30: LAUNCHING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000155 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2018 TAGS: PREL NATO MARR UP SUBJECT: NATO-UKRAINE AMBASSADORIAL APRIL 30: LAUNCHING INTENSIFIED ENGAGEMENT REF: REF: NUC(PC)WP(2008)0001 - TENTATIVE LIST OF INTENSIVE ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS WITH UKRAINE FOR 2008 (E-MAILED TO EUR/RPM) Classified By: Ambassador Victoria Nuland for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Allied Ambassadors discussed NATO's invitation to "Intensive Engagement" with Ukrainian Ambassador Sagach in the NATO-Ukraine Commission on April 30. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer invited Allies to propose issues for consultation in the run-up to the December 2008 NATO Foreign Ministerial which would review Ukraine's application to launch a Membership Action Plan. Sagach described Ukraine's progress on its Euro-Atlantic agenda, putting special emphasis on the government's public information campaign to build domestic support for NATO. Ambassador Nuland welcomed expanding the range of consultation and cooperation between Ukraine and the Alliance and urged Kyiv to revitalize its public outreach. She informed the NUC that all U.S. candidates for President had supported a recently passed Senate resolution calling on NATO foreign ministers to grant MAP in December. The Netherlands countered that its parliament had just expressed caution. Every NUC representative contributed to the day's discussion, with many pointing to the need for Ukraine to deliver on the many ambitious commitments it had already undertaken. End Summary. Making the Most of Intensive Engagement -------------- ¶2. (C) The NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) met in Ambassadorial session April 20 to follow up on the April 4 NUC Summit in Bucharest. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer challenged the 26 Allied Ambassadors and Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Sagach to make the best possible use of the "Intensive Engagement" introduced at Bucharest to advance Ukraine's aspiration to launch a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the December 2008 NATO Foreign Ministerial. The SecGen invited the NUC Ambassadors to propose issues to discuss during the: - ambitious schedule of Political Committee-Deputy Minister-level Intensive Engagement sessions (REF); - June 13 NATO-Ukraine Defense Ministerial; - June 16-17 visit of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) to Kyiv and regional capitals in Ukraine; and - November 12-13 High-Level NATO-Ukraine Consultations under the Secretary General's chairmanship in Tallinn. ¶3. (C) Ambassador Sagach said that full membership in NATO remained the primary objective of Ukraine's security strategy, and thanked Allies for their declaration that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance. He described Ukraine's progress on its Euro-Atlantic agenda since the Summit, including: - an April 25 Presidential decree placing national coordination of NATO-Ukraine activities under a single Deputy Prime Minister; - Prime Minister Tymoshenko's public support for full implementation of the NATO-Ukraine Annual Target Plan 2008; - the State Program for Public Information on NATO-Ukraine 2008-2011, with a budget of $2 million; and - work toward beginning training for officials responsible for Euro-Atlantic activities in the regions. Focusing on Public Outreach, NAC Visit -------------- ¶4. (C) Sagach updated PermReps on Ukraine's contributions to NATO-led operations in Kosovo, Iraq, the Mediterranean, and Afghanistan, and its offer to contribute to the NATO Response Force (NRF). He expanded on Ukraine's proposals for consultations between Deputy Ministers and NATO committees. He explained that the new National Security Strategy would form the basis for Ukraine's second Strategic Defense Review and set the stage for meetings of the Joint Working Group on Defense Reform. Finally, addressing the issues of most concern to PermReps, delved into the government's Public Awareness campaign and preparations for the NAC visit to Ukraine in some detail. ¶5. (C) On the public information campaign, Sagach summarized a new approach that would: - be led by the State Television and Broadcasting body; - focus on the regions where NATO was least understood; - include more systematic monitoring of public opinion; - involve NGOs in its activities; and - provide objective information to overcome existing stereotypes. ¶6. (C) The NAC visit to Kyiv would include: - meetings with the Cabinet of Ministers and Members of Parliament, - a NUC session with the Foreign and Defense Ministers; - outreach trips to Odessa, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and possibly other regional centers (Simferopol in Crimea, per the Ukrainian NATO mission); - give-and-take opportunities for PermReps with the public, especially students and other youth; and - a strong media component. Supporting MAP: The Next President of the U.S. -------------- -- ¶7. (C) Ambassador Nuland welcomed Ukraine's proposals for expanding the range of consultation and cooperation between Ukraine and the Alliance. Alluding to the so-far meager results of Kyiv's public information campaign, she urged the Ukrainian government to find a "passionate" advocate to run the program, and to maximize the public relations aspect of the NAC visit to the regions. She endorsed a set of deliverables for the upcoming NUC Defense Ministerial that had been proposed by Canada (as did Poland and several other Allies: - formal acceptance of the Ukrainian offer to contribute to the NRF; - linkage of the Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE) with Ukraine; - welcoming the doubling in Ukrainian funding towards Public Diplomacy; - finalization of land transit arrangements for ISAF goods; and - ISAF helicopter training, maintenance, and parts. ¶8. (C) Ambassador Nuland informed the NUC that the U.S. Senate had adopted resolution 523 supporting the NATO Summit declaration on Ukraine and Georgia, and calling for NATO foreign ministers to grant MAP to Ukraine and Georgia in December. Among those supporting the resolution, she added pointedly, were Senators Obama, Clinton, and McCain. Her announcement had a visible impact on the NUC, with the exception of the stone-faced German PermRep. Winning Over the Public is Sine Qua Non -------------- ¶9. (C/NF) All 27 NUC representatives intervened in the discussion. The main overriding theme was recognition of the need for the government's public information campaign to deliver positive results. Many Allies described their bilateral assistance programs with Ukraine, ranging from the joint Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian joint battalion aiming to stand up in 2010; to Norwegian and Czech support for Euro-Atlantic Integration Centers in two Ukrainian cities; to Canada, which reprised its list of proposed NATO-Ukraine deliverables. NATO's Chairman of the Military Committee noted that mil-to-mil cooperation was working well, and that further improvement of interoperability would be the focus of the May 14-15 CHODs meeting. ¶10. (C) On the less-enthusiastic side of the Alliance, Germany noted that PM Merkel would visit Kyiv during the summer, but commented that "NATO must bear in mind its own security interests" when making decisions about enlargement. Germany also called for Ukrainian constitutional reform as a priority. France voiced support for Ukraine's "Euro-Atlantic aspirations" - without alluding to membership in NATO. The Netherlands said that, like the U.S., its legislature had pronounced on Ukraine's membership in the alliance and had "no objection in principle," but the time was not ripe. The Netherlands did, however, call for more NATO Parliamentary Assembly contact with Ukrainian legislators to continue to inform parliamentary opinion. Belgium insisted on the need for "national consensus" in Ukraine (disregarding the fact that Croatia had launched MAP with only 20% support for acceding to the Alliance). The Netherlands and Greece presented the longest "to-do" lists for Kyiv - including reform of the security services and the judiciary and stemming corruption (both also German themes),as well as winning public support, and emphasized that Ukraine should focus on implementing its ambitious commitments. NULAND