AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
VILNIUS: Ukraine's defense minister expressed confidence Sunday that neither Russian opposition nor low public support will stand in the way of the former Soviet republic joining NATO.
NATO defense ministers, including US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, gathered here to discuss progress made by Ukraine's new government toward meeting criteria for membership in the alliance.
Senior Lithuanian and US officials said a key problem was low public support in Ukraine for NATO membership with officials noting that surveys show it is backed by only 25 percent of the population.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatoly Hrystenko attributed the weak support to “old stereotypes” of NATO among a people who have traditionally been taught that NATO was the enemy, but he said they could be “easily broken.”
“But mainly it is an issue of trust in the Ukrainian government,” he said.
“If the Ukrainian government succeeds in domestic reforms … the population will support the republic's political course toward NATO,” he said at a news conference with Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld said the United States was helping Ukraine get ready to join the Membership Action Program early next year, the first formal step in the process of seeking admission to the alliance. That could put it in contention for membership as early as 2008.
“We are interested in working with them and encouraging them to undertake the kind of reforms that would put them on that path,” he said.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who swept to power last year following “Orange Revolution” street protests that forced a fair election, has made membership in NATO and the European Union top priorities.
A political crisis that erupted last month over allegations of corruption in his entourage has hurt his popularity, however, and he faces crucial parliamentary elections in March.
Russia also has warned that while it cannot prevent Ukraine from joining the alliance, its relations with Moscow will change if it does.
Hrystenko said he does not regard Russian opposition as “a really serious issue.”
He said Moscow has learned from the example of the Baltic countries, which joined NATO over fierce Russian opposition.
“Despite all the warnings back then from (Russian) President (Boris) Yeltsin or President (Vladimir) Putin, there is no threat (from the Baltics) to the Russian public,” he said.
“And Ukraine is establishing and continuing normal relations with Russia and in no way threatens Russian interests,” he said.
Lithuania, which is hosting the NATO-Ukraine meeting here, has been active in advising Ukraine on what to do to meet NATO criteria for membership.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said the Yushchenko government must do much more to improve NATO's image in the eyes of Ukrainians.
Two senior US officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity gave Ukraine high marks for an aggressive plan to reform its military. The plan would end conscription, reduce its 260,000-strong military to 143,000 by 2010, and make it more deployable.
One official noted that Ukraine has provided troops to NATO-led missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and transport planes for NATO in Darfur and humanitarian relief operations related to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the United States.
But the official warned that “one of the things we measure is active popular support because you don't want to take a country whose population doesn't support the alliance.”
