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At our meeting today, we discussed preparations for the Alliance's next Summit
meeting in Washington in April 1999. At this Summit, which will mark the
50th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, we will celebrate
the historic achievements of NATO as a strong, united and successful Alliance
and will welcome the three invited countries - the Czech Republic, Hungary
and Poland - as members of the Alliance. The Summit will also provide an
opportunity to define the Alliance's role for the future, including ever
closer relations with Partner countries. Accordingly, we recommend to our
Heads of State and Government that at the Washington Summit they set out
their shared vision of the Alliance in the years ahead - an Alliance adapted,
renewed and ready to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.
We reviewed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the future of the
NATO-led Stabilisation Force, and consulted on the situation in and around
Kosovo. On both these important subjects, we have issued separate statements.
We have also issued a separate statement on "Adaptation of the Treaty on
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE): Restraint and Flexibility". We
gave additional guidance to the Alliance's ongoing work in implementing the
decisions of the Madrid Summit of July 1997 to shape the new NATO.
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We are pleased with the successful completion by all Allies of the ratification
process for the accession of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to the
Washington Treaty. We welcome the progress made in preparations for membership
by the invited countries, and encourage them and the NATO Military Authorities
to accelerate their efforts towards completion of the relevant minimum military
requirements of the Alliance. The membership of these countries will contribute
to an overall strengthening of the Alliance and to enhancing security and
stability in Europe. We look forward to welcoming the Czech Republic, Hungary
and Poland as our new Allies before the Washington Summit.
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We reaffirm that the door remains open to NATO membership under Article 10
of the North Atlantic Treaty and in accordance with Paragraph 8 of the Madrid
Summit Declaration. Taking into account a report on the intensified dialogue
on membership questions, we reviewed this process, as mandated by our Heads
of State and Government, in preparation for the comprehensive review which
they will carry out at their meeting in Washington. We tasked the Council
in Permanent Session to develop for the Washington Summit a comprehensive
package that will continue the enlargement process, operationalise our commitment
to the open door policy and underscore our willingness to assist aspiring
countries in meeting NATO standards.
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We received a comprehensive report describing the progress made in our internal
adaptation, to which we continue to attach great importance. The fundamental
objectives of this adaptation are to maintain the Alliance's military
effectiveness for the full range of its missions building on its essential
collective defence capabilities and its ability to react to a wide range
of contingencies, to preserve the transatlantic link, and to develop the
European Security and Defence Identity (ESDI) within the Alliance. Implementation
of the Combined Joint Task Forces (CJTF) concept and preparations for
implementation of the new command structure are well in hand. Our aim is
to have the necessary preparations completed to enable the Council to take
a single and irreversible decision on the activation requests of all headquarters
of the new NATO command structure by the beginning of March 1999, and we
tasked the Council in Permanent Session accordingly.
We reviewed the progress made in building the ESDI within NATO and welcome
the close cooperation and consultation with the WEU in this regard. Regular
meetings of the NATO and WEU Councils in Joint Session and of subordinate
bodies, and arrangements for close consultation on the planning and conduct
of WEU-led operations and exercises involving the use of NATO assets and
capabilities, are important elements of the development of ESDI within the
Alliance. Preparation within the Alliance for WEU-led operations making use
of Alliance assets and capabilities is now well advanced. In this context,
we welcome the results of the joint workshop on the NATO-WEU consultation
process and look forward to a crisis management seminar in February 1999,
leading up to a joint NATO-WEU crisis management exercise in 2000. We appreciate
the steady strengthening of cooperative links between NATO and the WEU which
was reaffirmed at the WEU Council of Ministers held in Rome on 16th-17th
November. We direct the Council in Permanent Session to ensure that the key
elements of the work on implementing the Berlin and Brussels decisions relating
to ESDI are in place, as set out in the report on internal adaptation submitted
to us, by the Washington Summit. Moreover, we direct the Council to make
recommendations on how best to further enhance the effectiveness of ESDI
within the Alliance, including the contribution made by all European Allies,
beyond the Washington Summit.
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We reviewed the ongoing work on the examination, and updating as necessary,
of the Alliance's Strategic Concept, as mandated by our Heads of State and
Government at their Summit meeting in Madrid in July 1997. This work must
ensure that the Strategic Concept is fully consistent with the Alliance's
new security environment. It should reaffirm our commitment to collective
defence and the transatlantic link; take account of the challenges the Alliance
now faces; and present an Alliance ready and with a full range of capabilities
to enhance security and stability for countries in the Euro-Atlantic area
in the 21st century, including through dialogue, cooperation and partnership
and, where appropriate, non-Article 5 crisis response operations, such as
that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the possible participation of partners.
We instructed the Council in Permanent Session to pursue this work vigorously
so that the new text is available by the time of the Washington Summit.
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We are pleased that the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and an enhanced
Partnership for Peace (PfP) are resulting in a stronger consultative forum
and a more operational Partnership. This will improve the ability of Allies
and Partners to contribute to security and stability through political
consultations and practical cooperation. The EAPC has proven a valuable forum
for consultations on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the crisis
in Kosovo. We received a comprehensive progress report on implementation
of the EAPC Basic Document and the enhanced Partnership for Peace.
We welcome the EAPC's substantial updated Action Plan for 1998 - 2000 which
includes exploring new issues. In the area of arms control, disarmament and
non-proliferation issues, these would include arms control, political and
defence efforts against proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons and missiles, and arms trafficking, control of small arms transfers
and means of encouraging de-mining.
We welcome as a positive development the inauguration last June of the
Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, which has already
coordinated emergency aid for relief operations in Albania and Ukraine.
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The Partnership for Peace continues to be the focal point of our efforts
to build with Partners new patterns of practical military and defence-related
cooperation across a wide range of issues.
We note with satisfaction the ongoing discussions with Partners on the
development of a political-military framework for NATO-led PfP operations.
This will enhance future cooperation by establishing a basis for Partner
involvement in political consultations and decision-making, command arrangements
and operational planning for NATO-led non-Article 5 operations. The
political-military framework will be a key element in future cooperation
and will provide for an increased role of Partners in one of the Alliance's
major new tasks. The intention is to finalise this work, in tandem with the
Strategic Concept, by the Washington Summit.
We welcome the Concept for PfP Training Centres, which will advance the broad
politico-military goals of PfP's overall education and training efforts,
particularly in supporting enhanced military cooperation and interoperability.
We are pleased that a substantial number of interested Partner countries
are taking up the opportunity, provided under the expanded Planning and Review
Process (PARP), to adopt initial Partnership goals in Spring 1999. This is
an important effort towards closer Partner cooperation with Alliance structures
and procedures, in particular by enhancing interoperability, a priority for
the Alliance.
We welcome the increased attention given to multinational formations as a
means to enhance military cooperation between Allies and Partners, as in
IFOR/SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We tasked the Council in Permanent Session to put together, with Partners,
the initiatives above and other work now underway to form a coherent package
of measures intended to reinforce PfP's operational capabilities for the
Washington Summit.
Partnership for Peace programmes can also play an important role in contributing
to Alliance efforts in reinforcing regional stability, such as in the Balkans.
In this context, the Alliance has promoted, with participation of Partners,
a substantive programme of assistance to Albania and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia.
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We are encouraged by the developing process of consultation and practical
cooperation with Russia under the auspices of the Permanent Joint Council
(PJC) and remain committed to working together with Russia to achieve a strong,
stable and enduring partnership, on the basis of the principles of common
interest, reciprocity and transparency, as called for in the NATO-Russia
Founding Act.
The crisis in Kosovo has confirmed the value of the PJC as a consultative
forum. The ongoing SFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a valuable
example of practical cooperation between NATO and Russia.
We are pleased that military-to-military cooperation is progressing well,
and that agreement has been reached on the establishment of a NATO Military
Liaison Mission in Moscow by the end of this year.
We look forward to signing with Russia a Memorandum of Understanding on
Environmental Protection and to establishing as soon as possible a NATO
Information Office in Moscow. We welcome the establishment of the NATO-Russia
Scientific and Technological Cooperation Committee, which recently held its
inaugural meeting in Moscow; agreement on the establishment of an Information
and Consultation Centre in Moscow on the retraining of retired military
personnel; and Russian participation in the PfP exercise "Cooperative Assembly".
We will continue to work closely with Russia to develop an updated and
substantial Individual Partnership Programme (IPP) to include a wide range
of practical defence-related and military-to-military cooperative activities.
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We reaffirm our view that Ukraine has a key role to play in European security.
We attach importance to the development of strong and active practical
cooperation and political consultations with Ukraine, under the aegis of
the NATO-Ukraine Charter. We welcome the announcement by the President of
Ukraine of a "State Programme of Cooperation with NATO to the Year 2001"
as a tangible signal of Ukraine's commitment to a productive relationship
with NATO.
We intend to utilise as fully as possible the potential offered by Ukraine's
active participation in enhanced PfP and the agreed NATO-Ukraine Work Plan
for 1999. We also note with satisfaction the growing military cooperation
between NATO and Ukraine. The newly established NATO-Ukraine Joint Working
Group on Defence Reform is a unique partnership programme.
We welcome the agreement to be signed tomorrow on the appointment of two
NATO liaison officers to Kyiv to enhance mutual cooperation. We will continue
to support an active information effort in Ukraine through the NATO Information
and Documentation Centre in Kyiv.
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Security in Europe is closely linked with security and stability in the
Mediterranean. We therefore give great attention to our Mediterranean Dialogue
which is part of the Alliance's cooperative approach to security, contributes
to building confidence with participating countries and mutually reinforces
other international efforts towards this end. We look forward to the positive
contribution that the newly designated Allied Contact Point Embassies will
have in fostering the Dialogue. We are committed to further improving the
political, civil and military aspects of our Dialogue. We encourage Partners
in the Dialogue to take full advantage of all its possibilities, including
in the military field. We are ready to consider possibilities to enhance
cooperation with participating countries in preparation for the Washington
Summit.
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The establishment of the Kosovo Verification Missions has opened a new stage
in cooperation between NATO and the OSCE. Through the close coordination
with the OSCE over the last months in the planning and establishment of these
missions, and our continuing cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have
further demonstrated in practice our ability to work together in crisis
situations.
We also welcome the strengthening of relations between NATO and the OSCE
over the past year, in the spirit of the OSCE's Common Concept for the
Development of Cooperation between Mutually Reinforcing Institutions. We
continue to support the efforts of the OSCE to develop a Document-Charter
on European Security, worthy of adoption at the OSCE Istanbul Summit in 1999.
We welcome the outcome of the OSCE Oslo Ministerial of 2nd-3rd December 1998.
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We continue to consider the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European security.
We are committed to a successful adaptation of the Treaty. We will play our
full part in seeking to complete this by the time of the OSCE Istanbul Summit.
To this end, we will support efforts aimed at the resolution of key outstanding
issues and the start of drafting work in the first months of next year. To
assist this process, the North Atlantic Council and the Czech Republic, Hungary
and Poland have today issued a separate statement entitled "Adaptation of
the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE): Restraint and
Flexibility." Pending Entry into Force of the Adapted Treaty, we regard continued
strict implementation of the current Treaty and its associated documents
as vital.
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We welcome the communiqué of the five nuclear weapons states of 4th
June this year affirming their commitments relating to nuclear disarmament
under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We call on Russia
to ratify the START II Treaty without delay. This would pave the way for
considerable reductions of nuclear arsenals and would allow negotiations
on a START III Treaty aiming at further far-reaching reductions of nuclear
weapons stockpiles. We remain committed to an early entry into force of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and call upon all countries to accede to and
implement the Treaty in due course. We support the early conclusion of a
Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty.
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The proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons and their
means of delivery continues to be a matter of serious concern for the Alliance.
We note the report of the Joint Committee on Proliferation regarding the
activities of the Senior Political-Military Group on Proliferation and the
Senior Defence Group on Proliferation. The Alliance and its members remain
committed to preventing proliferation and to reversing it, should it occur,
through diplomatic means. At the same time, we recognise that proliferation
can pose a direct threat to the Alliance. Building on the successful work
of the NATO groups on proliferation, we are prepared to expand NATO's efforts
to address the evolving proliferation threat. We therefore task the Council
in Permanent Session to prepare for the Washington Summit proposals for an
initiative to ensure that the Alliance has the political and military
capabilities to address appropriately and effectively the challenges of the
proliferation of NBC weapons and their means of delivery.
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We underline the risk to international and regional stability posed by the
spread of NBC weapons. In particular, we urge all countries to accede to
and fully implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone
of the non-proliferation régime.
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We are determined to achieve progress on a legally binding protocol including
effective verification measures to enhance compliance and promote transparency
that strengthens the implementation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons
Convention. We re-emphasise the importance of universal adherence to the
Chemical Weapons Convention.
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We call on Russia, Ukraine and Belarus to ratify the Open Skies Treaty without
delay.
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Terrorism constitutes a serious threat to peace, security and stability which
can threaten the territorial integrity of States. We reiterate our condemnation
of terrorism and reaffirm our determination to combat it in accordance with
our international commitments and national legislation.