NATO hoping to continue effective cooperation with Ukraine under President Yanukovych

12:22

NATO hopes to continue effective cooperation with Ukraine under President Viktor Yanukovych, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Security Cooperation and Partnership General Robert Simmons said in an interview to Ukrainian media on Friday.

The alliance sees the desire of the Ukrainian side to continue cooperation, the general said. He explained that the cooperation between Ukraine and NATO goes beyond the issue of membership, and the alliance is thankful to Ukraine for its contribution to peacekeeping operations. The work the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and NATO were conducting together and the alliance's support for reforms is a very important part of this process, Simmons said.

According to him, a lot of programs on cooperation between Ukraine and NATO were launched under President Leonid Kuchma and Premiere Yanukovych, and he expressed hope that this process would continue.

The NATO representative also predicted that Ukraine will continue implementing the annual national program to prepare for membership of the alliance, and called for the development of a detailed plan of cooperation. Even if Ukraine's membership of NATO were not on today's agenda, such a plan would be useful, the general added.