UKRINFORM
Ambassador Dolhov: Ukraine to spend $1.5mln for security in Afghanistan after 2014
KYIV, April 23 /UKRINFORM/. Ukraine in 2015-2017 will contribute USD 1.5 million to an international trust fund to maintain security in Afghanistan, the head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, Ihor Dolhov, announced this in Brussels on Tuesday, a UKRINFORM reporter said.
"Ukraine has undertaken to contribute, starting 2015, USD 500,000 to this stabilization fund a year within three years," the ambassador said.
Dolhov noted that Ukraine has consistently and persistently continued making its contribution to the international efforts to help Afghanistan. The diplomat added that the Ukrainian side is one of the first among the partner countries to announce its engagement in NATO's new training mission in Afghanistan from 2014 and now got involved in the process of its planning.
"The format of Ukraine's participation in the operation is defined by its framework. This includes assistance, training, and support. The next mission does not provide for any involvement in combat operations. It is on these foundations that Ukrainian representatives participate in the current International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan," the head of the mission emphasized.
A reminder that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that, according to preliminary estimates, providing security in Afghanistan after 2014 will cost the international community about USD 4 billion a year.
NATO-Ukraine working group to analyze country's preparations for signing Association Agreement
KYIV, April 23 /UKRINFORM/. The fulfillment by Ukraine of its commitments towards the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union will be discussed at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defense Reform in Kyiv on April 25, Head of Ukraine's Mission to NATO Ihor Dolhov said in Brussels on Tuesday.
"The working group will discuss how the reform of the defense sector will continue in Ukraine, as well as how Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations and making transformations in order to ensure the timely signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union, including the creation of a deep and comprehensive free trade area," Dolhov said said.
Linking Ukraine's cooperation with the alliance to the country's European integration, the ambassador recalled that NATO Chicago Summit Declaration points to the democratization of society and the establishment of the rule of law in Ukraine. "Therefore, as a military and political organization, NATO proceeds from the fact that certain democratic values and principles are common for the European Union and for NATO. And, therefore, they are common for Ukraine," Dolhov said.
The ambassador said that the format of the working group foresees the participation of representatives of all member states of the alliance.
Afghanistan hails presence of Ukrainian military after 2014
KYIV, April 29 /UKRINFORM/. The Afghan authorities welcomed the continued participation of the Ukrainian military in the new training mission in the country after the withdrawal of the international coalition forces in 2014, Mohammad Yahya Maroufi, Minister-Counselor of Afghan President for Political Affairs, told a UKRINFORM reporter on Monday.
"We would like Ukraine to continue to maintain its interests in Afghanistan. We also welcome your participation after 2014," he said, when asked about the vision by the Afghan authorities of further stay of Ukrainian peacekeepers within the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
According to him, the Afghan side welcomes both the participation of the Ukrainian military in the new training mission and the implementation by Ukraine of projects in economy, mining, etc.
"All the countries participating in the ISAF are important and valuable. We believe that this is the first step towards the development of our long-term relationship," said Maroufi.
As known, the military personnel of 50 contributing countries are involved in the International Security Assistance Force in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (ISAF). The Armed Forces of Ukraine are presented by 28 military who carry out the tasks of civil-military cooperation, search, disposal and destruction of explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices, providing professional medical assistance to the population of Afghanistan, training for the ISAF Air Force.
With a NATO decision, the withdrawal of the workforce and means of the mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in 2014, delegating responsibility for security in the country to Afghan National Security Forces. At the same time, the Alliance plans to stay in the country after 2014 under the new non-military training support mission.