On May 19, Brussels hosted the Senior Level Meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defense Reform led by Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The leader of the Ukrainian delegation Andriy Parubiy, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, spoke about the security policy in Ukraine, highlighted the problems and the ways of solving them, as well as directions of intensification of the NATO-Ukraine cooperation. He reassured the readiness of the new Ukrainian Government to develop democracy and stressed one of the key current tasks are presidential election in Ukraine on May 25, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a release.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ihor Kabanenko and representative of the General Staff of Ukraine Major General Viktor Nazarov informed the meeting participants about tasks which have been solved by the leaders of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to strengthen the defense potential of the Ukrainian army, the anti-terrorist operation and experience gained by the Ukrainian military.
The meeting participants remarked on the Ukraine’s important role in peacekeeping and security in Europe and in the world, pledged comprehensive support to the Ukraine’s delegation and stressed readiness for further intensification of cooperation with Ukraine to solve the crisis and reform the national sector of security and defense.
The NATO representatives informed about their readiness to send advisers to assist the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and other structures in their reforms adhering to the modern standards.
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Press Release, May 21, 2014, Image: Ukrainian MoD