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