President Kuchma, Mr. Secretary General,

NATO’s partnership with Ukraine has come a long way since 1997.

I appreciate your presence here today and welcome the opportunity it gives us to strengthen our co-operation.

Ukraine has a vital role to play in forging security and stability within the Euro-Atlantic area. We expect Ukraine to do its part in bringing local and regional conflicts to an end, and to be a close and reliable partner in meeting the most pressing security challenges of today – terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

We appreciate Ukraine’s contributions to the often dangerous missions undertaken by the transatlantic community in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

We fully share the desire expressed by Ukraine for closer integration into the broader Euro-Atlantic security structures, and to be a close partner of NATO. However, in order for this to happen the Ukraine leadership must demonstrate its commitment to implementing sustained democratic and economic reforms.

The upcoming presidential election is crucial in this regard. A key question in the run-up to the election is equal access for all candidates to the national media. Recently we have witnessed disturbing developments as regards the free media. This trend must be reversed. It is up to Ukraine itself to demonstrate real progress on democratic reforms and human rights, thereby laying the foundation for closer ties with NATO.

We sincerely hope that developments in Ukraine will make this possible.

Thank you.