COMMUNIQUE OF THE DECEMBER 2-3 NATO FOREIGN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 USNATO 000447 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: NATO MARR PARM PHSA PTER XG ZM XA XF SUBJECT: COMMUNIQUE OF THE DECEMBER 2-3 NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS' MEETING, PART 2 OF 2 ¶1. (U) The following is part 2 of the Communique from the December 2-3 NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting: CONTINUE TEXT: ¶20. We welcome the progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro in their cooperation with the Alliance and the development of ambitious Individual Partnership Action Plans with both countries. We expect both countries to maintain the momentum in implementing these Action Plans and note positively their intention to enhance integration through regional cooperation initiatives. We welcome the start of an Intensified Dialogue with both countries on the full range of political, military, financial, and security issues relating to their aspirations to membership, without prejudice to any eventual Alliance decision. Without prejudice to our future decision on Montenegro's request to participate in the MAP, we welcome Montenegro's interest to progress towards Euro Atlantic integration. ¶21. Despite progress in some areas, we are concerned by the deterioration in the political climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past few months, which puts at risk the constitutional structure of the country as well as its Euro Atlantic integration prospects. We encourage all political leaders in the country to take a more responsible stance and urge early implementation of recent agreements, such as on defence property. We are deeply concerned by irresponsible political rhetoric and actions that weaken the Bosnian state and call into question the existence of its entities, including the break up of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of which could have profound implications. The 8 November 2008 political agreement between some Bosnian leaders is a welcome sign of dialogue. We urge all political leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina to implement concrete changes consistent with the Peace Implementation Council's requirements for closure of the Office of the High Representative. NATO continues to remain vigilant and will closely monitor the political developments. We deem it important that the international presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina take account of the political and security situation. NATO remains committed to continuing to support Operation EUFOR ALTHEA through the Berlin Plus arrangements. As such, we attach utmost importance to efficient cooperation and consultations between the EU and NATO and non EU Allies. ¶22. In light of the new Serbian Government's stated commitment to Euro Atlantic values and partnership, NATO continues to support Serbia's integration into the Euro Atlantic community of nations. We welcome Serbia's desire to pursue further practical cooperation with NATO, including through full use of Partnership for Peace (PfP). The recent signature of the Agreement with NATO on the Security of Information represents an important step in this regard. We stand ready to further develop our partnership, in particular through elaboration of an Individual Partnership Action Plan in accordance with the PfP principles of inclusiveness and self differentiation. All NATO partnership opportunities for political consultation and practical cooperation remain open to Serbia. We call upon Serbia to influence the parties concerned in Kosovo to abstain from violence. ¶23. We acknowledge Serbia's recent capture and extradition of the war crimes indictee Radovan Karadzic and urge Serbia USNATO 00000447 002 OF 006 to continue its efforts, in particular to capture and extradite fugitive Ratko Mladic and other remaining fugitives. We continue to expect Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and will closely monitor their respective efforts in this regard. ¶24. While we continue to believe in the importance for Euro Atlantic security of relations between NATO and Russia that are based on constructive dialogue - including on issues that divide the Alliance and Russia - and cooperation, recent Russian actions and statements have seriously diminished our confidence in Moscow's continuing commitment to the founding values and principles of the NATO Russia relations. Following Russia's disproportionate military actions during the conflict with Georgia in August, we determined that there could be no business as usual in our relations with Russia. Russia's subsequent recognition of the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia, which we condemn and call upon Russia to reverse, contravenes the OSCE principles on which the security of Europe is based and the United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Georgia's territorial integrity which Russia endorsed. We reaffirm our adherence to these values and principles and call on Russia to demonstrate its own commitment to them. We call upon Russia to refrain from confrontational statements, including assertions of a sphere of influence, and from threats to the security of Allies and Partners, such as the one concerning the possible deployment of short range missiles in the Kaliningrad region. We also call upon Russia to implement fully the commitments agreed with Georgia, as mediated by the EU on 12 August and 8 September 2008. In the context of Georgia, we view Russia's withdrawal from the areas it has committed to leave as an essential step and welcome the steps taken thus far to implement those commitments, while underscoring the importance of full access by international monitors and reminding Russia of its responsibility in terms of security and order. We express our support for the constructive exchanges between all the parties involved in the Geneva international discussions aimed at making progress rapidly on pending issues related to security and humanitarian matters. We urge Russia, as well as all other relevant actors, to continue to engage constructively in the resolution of these outstanding issues as the Geneva talks go forward. ¶25. The NATO Russia partnership was conceived as a strategic element in fostering security in the Euro Atlantic area. Dialogue and cooperation remain important for our joint ability to meet effectively common security threats and challenges. We have not conducted business as usual in the NATO Russia Council (NRC) since August. In a partnership based on common values, the lack of a shared commitment to those values must naturally cause the relationship and the scope for cooperative action to suffer. That is reflected in the limited scope of our current practical cooperation. Taking this into account, we have agreed on a measured and phased approach: we have mandated the Secretary General to re-engage with Russia at the political level; agreed to informal discussions in the NRC; and requested the Secretary General to report back to us prior to any decision to engage Russia formally in the NRC. ¶26. NATO's policy of outreach through partnerships, USNATO 00000447 003 OF 006 dialogue and cooperation is an essential part of the Alliance's purpose and tasks. The Alliance's partnerships across the globe have an enduring value, contributing to stability and security in the Euro Atlantic area and beyond. We value highly the contributions that our partners are making to NATO's missions and operations. ¶27. We remain committed to substantive political discussions and effective cooperation within the Euro Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and Partnership for Peace, based on shared values and principles. NATO expects all Partners to fulfil their commitments to these values and principles. We encourage and will continue to support further defence and other reforms, including in the strategically important regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia. We are looking forward to the EAPC Security Forum to be held in Kazakhstan in June 2009. ¶28. We met yesterday with our seven Mediterranean partners to review the significant progress in the Mediterranean Dialogue process since our last meeting in 2007, and discuss other issues of common interest. We look forward to building on this progress and further deepening our relationship through political dialogue and practical cooperation, including in the context of the NATO Training Cooperation Initiative and through the use of trust fund mechanisms, such as those with Jordan. We consider peace and stability in the Mediterranean region as essential to our own security. We welcome the offer of the Spanish Government to host the next Mediterranean Dialogue Ministerial meeting in Spring 2009. ¶29. We are pleased with the response by the four Gulf countries participating in our Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI),including to the NATO Training Cooperation Initiative, and are determined to further intensify our cooperation in this and other areas. The current deployment of NATO's Standing Maritime Group 2 in the Gulf region and the exercises it is undertaking with ICI partners demonstrate our mutual interest in developing our ability to operate together. ¶30. We are also pleased with the growing interest in many countries beyond the Euro Atlantic area in developing closer relations with NATO. Many of these countries support our operations, are involved in practical cooperation with the Alliance in key areas such as education and training, and engage in regular consultations with NATO on issues such as the fight against terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. We are interested in NATO's engagement with partners across the globe and further developing our political dialogue and practical cooperation with these countries in areas of common interest. ¶31. NATO's transformation is a continual process which demands constant political attention and active management by the Allies. We must ensure the provision of forces to allow the Alliance to conduct its full range of missions, including collective defence and crisis response operations, as envisaged in NATO's Strategic Concept and Comprehensive Political Guidance. As an Alliance, we are committed to develop policies and capabilities to deal with emerging challenges and threats, taking into account regional and national considerations, and to address the immediate security concerns of all Allies. To that end, we welcome the USNATO 00000447 004 OF 006 decision taken on increasing political targets for deployability of land forces. In addition, the Alliance will continue efforts to be able to deploy the NATO Response Force by providing the necessary forces. The Alliance will, through NATO's evolving defence planning process, further develop the capabilities required to conduct the full range of our missions and to remedy specific shortfalls. We will work particularly at improving strategic lift, enhancing the availability of mission capable helicopters, and further strengthening our cyber defence. We remain committed to the development of a comprehensive policy for preventing the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and enhancing Alliance chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence. ¶32. Ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to Allies' forces, territory, and populations. Missile defence forms part of a broader response to counter this threat. We therefore recognise the substantial contribution to the protection of Allies from long range ballistic missiles to be provided by the planned deployment of European based United States missile defence assets. As tasked at the Bucharest Summit, we are exploring ways to link this capability with current NATO missile defence efforts as a way to ensure that it would be an integral part of any future NATO wide missile defence architecture. Bearing in mind the principle of indivisibility of Allied security as well as NATO solidarity, Allies took note of progress on the development of options for a comprehensive missile defence architecture to extend coverage to all European Allied territory and populations not otherwise covered by the United States system for review at our 2009 Summit to inform any future political decision. As all options include the planned deployment of European based United States missile defence assets, we note as a relevant development the signature of agreements by the Czech Republic and the Republic of Poland with the United States regarding those assets. As Defence Ministers did at their Budapest Ministerial in October 2008, we also noted today the plan to complete the analysis of options for a comprehensive missile defence architecture by the Defence Ministerial in Krakow in February 2009. A report on these options will be presented to Heads of State and Government for review at their next Summit. We continue to support the work underway to strengthen missile defence cooperation between Russia and NATO, and remain committed to maximum transparency and reciprocal confidence building measures to allay any concerns, as stated at the Bucharest Summit. We also encourage Russia to take advantage of United States missile defence cooperation proposals and we remain ready to explore the potential for linking United States, NATO and Russian missile defence systems at an appropriate time. ¶33. We reaffirm that arms control, disarmament and non proliferation will continue to make an important contribution to peace, security and stability, as part of a broader response to security issues. We have noted the implementation report on raising NATO's profile in this field. The report displays a broad range of activities being undertaken, including continuing efforts in preventing the spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the destruction of excess small arms and light weapons and surplus munitions. We aim at achieving a higher level of public awareness of NATO's contribution in the field of arms control, disarmament USNATO 00000447 005 OF 006 and non proliferation. The Council in Permanent Session will keep these issues under active review. ¶34. We place the highest value on the CFE Treaty regime with all its elements. We underscore the strategic importance of the CFE Treaty, including its flank regime, as a cornerstone of Euro Atlantic Security. We reiterate the endorsement by Heads of State and Government at the Bucharest Summit of the statement of the North Atlantic Council of 28 March 2008. We reaffirm the Alliance's commitment to the CFE Treaty regime, as expressed in the Alliance's position contained in paragraph 42 of the 2006 Riga Summit Declaration, the final statement by Allies at the CFE Extraordinary Conference in Vienna and Alliance statements reflecting subsequent developments. We are deeply concerned that, for nearly a full year, since 12 December 2007, Russia has continued its unilateral "suspension" of its legal obligations under the CFE Treaty. Furthermore, Russia's actions in Georgia have called into question its commitment to the fundamental OSCE principles on which stability and security in Europe are based: principles which underpin the CFE Treaty. These actions run counter to our common objective of preserving the long term viability of the CFE regime and we call upon Russia to resume its implementation without further delay. Because of our commitment to cooperative security and fulfilment of international agreements as well as the importance we attach to the confidence that results from military transparency and predictability, we have continued fully to implement the Treaty despite Russia's "suspension". However, the current situation, where NATO CFE Allies implement the Treaty while Russia does not, cannot last indefinitely. Over a year ago, we offered a set of constructive and forward looking proposals for parallel actions on key issues, including steps by NATO Allies on ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty and by Russia on outstanding commitments related to Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. We continue to believe that these proposals address all of Russia's stated concerns. We urge Russia to work cooperatively with us and other concerned CFE States Parties to reach agreement on the basis of the parallel actions package so that together we can preserve the benefits of this landmark regime. ¶35. We remain concerned with the persistence of regional conflicts in the South Caucasus and the Republic of Moldova. We continue to support the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. Peaceful conflict resolution founded on these principles has gained increased relevance for overall stability in the region. We will further support efforts to this aim, and stand ready to enter into consultations with these countries on matters of regional concern. We will also support these countries in their efforts to make full use of the mechanisms for conflict prevention and peaceful conflict resolution. ¶36. We commend the initiatives to strengthen cooperation, security and stability in the Black Sea region and will continue to support the regional efforts to this end. ¶37. In line with the Bucharest Summit report on NATO's role in energy security, the Alliance has continued to consult on the most immediate risks in the field of energy security, as part of our concerns over the risk of disruption of the flow USNATO 00000447 006 OF 006 of vital resources. In Bucharest, Allies identified principles which govern NATO's approach in the field of energy security, and outlined options and recommendations for further activities. The Alliance has accordingly started a process of implementation of activities in the five areas identified in the report, including through dialogue and practical cooperation on a case by case basis with its partners, relevant international organisations and the private sector, with a view to promoting energy security in those areas in which NATO can add value. We note the progress achieved and look forward to a consolidated report on the subject of energy security for consideration at the 2009 Summit. ¶38. We are determined to give new impetus to the reform of NATO Headquarters. Our aim is to make the work of the Headquarters more effective, responsive, transparent and resource efficient to support our consensual decision making. We welcome the work set in train by the Secretary General in response to the request of our Heads of State and Government in Bucharest, and note the substantial discussion in subsequent Defence Ministers' meetings in London and Budapest. We look forward to the Secretary General reporting to the next meeting of Defence Ministers, as well as to our next meeting, on progress in this work and with further proposals to contribute to the Alliance's ability to conduct the full range of its operations and missions and to meet today's security challenges. ¶39. At our meeting today we have reviewed progress in implementing the Bucharest Summit decisions, discussed the key security challenges facing the Alliance, and agreed on measures to enhance Alliance operations. We have set the stage for a successful 60th Anniversary Summit next year where our Heads of State and Government will adopt a Declaration on Alliance Security which will articulate the Alliance's vision of its role in meeting the evolving challenges of the 21st century and maintaining the ability to perform the full range of its missions, collectively defending our security at home and contributing to stability abroad. END TEXT VOLKER