(U) DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG'S DECEMBER 3, 2009,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000573 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2019 TAGS: OVIP STEINBERG JAMES PREL NATO UP RS SUBJECT: (U) DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG'S DECEMBER 3, 2009, PARTICIPATION IN THE NATO-UKRAINE COMMISSION ¶1. (U) Classified by: Amy Scanlon, D(S) Special Assistant, Department of State. Reason 1.4.(d) ¶2. (U) December 4, 2009; 3:30 p.m.; Brussels, Belgium. ¶3. (U) Participants: U.S. Deputy Secretary Steinberg Ambassador Ivo Daalder A/S Phil Gordon, EUR Amy Scanlon, D(S) Special Assistant Alejandro Baez (Notetaker) Ukraine Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko Ambassador Ihor Sagach NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee NATO Allies Albania: Illir Meta, Foreign Minister Belgium: Steven Vanackere, Foreign Minister Bulgaria: Todor Churov, Permanent Representative to NATO Canada: Yves Brodeur, Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Croatia: Gordan Jandrokovic, Foreign Minister Czech Republic: Jan Kohout, Foreign Minister Denmark: Per Stig Moller, Foreign Minister Estonia: Urmas Paet, Foreign Minister France: Pascale Andreani, Permanent Representative to NATO Germany: Ulrich Brandenburg, Permanent Representative to NATO Greece: Dimitrios Droutsas, Alternate Foreign Minister Hungary: Peter Balazs, Foreign Minister Iceland: Thorsteinn Ingolfsson, Permanent Representative to NATO Italy: Stefano Stefanini, Permanent Representative to NATO Latvia: Maris Riekstins, Foreign Minister Lithuania: Evaldas Ignatavicius, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Luxembourg: Jean Asselborn, Foreign Minister Netherlands: Maxime Verhagen, Foreign Minister Norway: Jonas Gahr Store, Foreign Minister Poland: Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister Portugal: Luis Amado, Foreign Minister Romania: Sorin Ducaru, Permanent Representative to NATO Slovakia: Miroslav Lajcak, Foreign Minister Slovenia: Samuel Zbogar, Foreign Minister Spain: Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube, Foreign Minister Turkey: Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister UK: Stewart Eldon, Permanent Representative to NATO ¶4. (C/NF) SUMMARY. Ukrainian FM Poroshenko told Allies that Kyiv was taking pragmatic and realistic steps toward its goal of NATO membership and that it was pleased with the results of its first Annual National Program. Poroshenko announced that Ukraine intended to triple its contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in Afghanistan. He also said that Ukraine was taking a more pragmatic stance in its relationship with Russia and was working to ensure the security of energy supplies transiting its territory. Poroshenko said he hoped Ukraine could contribute to the discussions informing the development of NATO's new Strategic Concept. Poroshenko expressed thanks for Allied and partner support during Ukraine's recent H1N1 crisis. ¶5. (C/NF) SUMMARY CONTINUED. Allies reaffirmed their support for the Bucharest Summit decision that Ukraine would someday become a member of NATO, but stressed that Ukraine needed to carry out significant reforms in order to meet NATO's performance-based standards. Secretary General Rasmussen said that the upcoming presidential elections needed to meet international standards, while several Allies said that it was important that NATO membership not become a campaign issue. Deputy Secretary Steinberg stressed the importance of public support for Ukraine's membership aspirations, while Polish FM Sikorski also stressed the need for a non-partisan approach to NATO among Ukraine's political elite. END SUMMARY USNATO 00000573 002 OF 003 -------------- NATO Membership and the ANP -------------- ¶6. (C/NF) At the December 3 NATO-Ukraine Commission Foreign Ministerial, Ukrainian FM Poroshenko said that Kyiv was taking pragmatic and realistic steps toward its goal of NATO membership. He said that Ukraine was pleased with the results of its first Annual National Program (ANP) cycle, adding that the Ukrainian government had already prepared its ANP document for 2010. He said that Kyiv recognized the work it still needed to do in a number of areas, such as in the fight against corruption. ¶7. (C/NF) Allies reaffirmed NATO's commitment to the Bucharest Summit decision that Ukraine would one day become a member of NATO, but stressed that the burden fell on Ukraine to carry out the reforms necessary to meet NATO's performance-based standards. While commending the progress achieved thus far in the new ANP process, Allies sent a consistent message that they expected significantly more from Ukraine than it had so far been able to achieve. Steinberg urged Ukraine to make better use of its ANP next year, including politically and economically feasible reform goals. Polish FM Sikorski stressed that Ukraine needed a "consistent" implementation of its reforms, while Dutch Foreign Minister Verhagen said that Ukraine needed to show progress in the areas of rule of law and the fight against corruption, and security sector reform. Other Allies made similar remarks, with several also including the need for Kyiv to improve its interagency coordination processes related to NATO. ¶8. (C/NF) Secretary General Rasmussen told Poroshenko that Allies expected high standards during the upcoming presidential elections. Poroshenko said the elections would be free and fair, adding that Kyiv had invited a thousand observers to monitor the elections in order to demonstrate the stability of its democracy. ¶9. (C/NF) Sikorski led Allies in stressing the need for a non-partisan, pro-NATO consensus within Ukraine's political class, as well as within the Ukrainian public at large. Sikorski stressed that it was important that NATO membership not become a key issue during the upcoming Ukrainian presidential election. Steinberg made a similar point, noting that Allies cannot want NATO membership for Ukraine more than Ukrainians want it for themselves. Other Allies echoed similar themes. In response, Poroshenko said that none of the major presidential candidates had tried to politicize NATO membership and that public support for NATO membership now outranked those opposed 32 percent to 29 percent, with the rest undecided. -------------- Contributions to NATO-led Operations -------------- ¶10. (C/NF) Reminding Allies that Ukraine participates in more NATO-led operations than any other NATO partner, Poroshenko announced that Ukraine's National Security and Defense Committee had decided on November 20 to triple its participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan. Allies welcomed the news and commended Kyiv for its commitment to operations. Steinberg said that Ukraine's participation in operations demonstrated Ukraine's commitment to becoming a security provider. -------------- Relations with Russia -------------- ¶11. (C/NF) Poroshenko said that Ukraine was trying to be pragmatic in its relations with Russia. At the same time, he urged Allies to oppose any efforts by Russia to claim a sphere of influence or to exercise a veto over Ukraine's membership aspirations. German PermRep Brandenburg commended this pragmatic approach, as did Italian PermRep Stefanini. Stefanini also reassured Poroshenko that Allies would oppose Russian efforts to assert a sphere of influence. -------------- Security of Energy Supplies -------------- USNATO 00000573 003 OF 003 ¶12. (C/NF) Poroshenko said that Ukraine had taken concrete steps to avoid a gas crisis with Russia similar to the ones it had had in recent years. He said that Kyiv had settled its payment to Moscow, leaving no outstanding debt to Russia. He also said that Ukraine had spent USD 7 billion to build up a reserve energy supply. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were among the Allies who said that they expected Ukraine to take all necessary steps to be a reliable energy transit country. -------------- Strategic Concept -------------- ¶13. (C/NF) Poroshenko said that Ukraine hoped to be able to contribute to the ongoing NATO discussion about the development of a new NATO Strategic Concept, particularly as the Concept would be binding on Kyiv when Ukraine finally does join the Alliance. He said that he hoped the Concept would reaffirm NATO's Open Door policy. He also suggested the idea of some form of security guarantees for non-NATO members, such as Ukraine, which had voluntarily given up nuclear weapons. -------------- Thanks for H1N1 Support -------------- ¶14. (C/NF) Poroshenko expressed his thanks to those Allies and partners which had provided assistance, via the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center, during Ukraine's H1N1 crisis. DAALDER