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NATO

• Moscow’s Agentstvo Voyennykh Novostey announces that Russian Defense Minister Ivanov will participate in the first session of the new Russia-NATO Council taking place in Brussels on Thursday. The report quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman saying participants will discuss non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, combating international terrorism, as well as new threats and challenges.

News that British Prime Minister Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, have sent a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Robertson urging the allies to upgrade their military capabilities is echoed by several media.

Under the title, "London and Madrid press for radical NATO shake-up," the Financial Times reports that backed by NATO secretary General Robertson, the two leaders want NATO to establish small, mobile and flexible units that can be sent quickly to trouble spots, even if they are outside NATO’ immediate sphere of influence. According to the newspaper, Blair and Aznar are seeking to define and give NATO a role in combating terrorism. The newspaper remarks that the letter comes in the run-up to Thursday’s meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

Madrid’s EFE, June 3, reported that in a letter to Lord Robertson and heads of state and government of the Alliance, Blair and Aznar proposed that at the Prague summit NATO should approve a declaration which will allow "the resources of the Alliance and the forces of its members to be used flexibly wherever they are needed."

Under the title, "U.S.: NATO needs rapid reaction units," Dutch daily De Volkskrant writes meanwhile that the United States wants NATO to create small, rapid reaction units which would be made out mainly of European troops. The newspaper expects that a proposal for the establishment of such units will be made by Defense Secretary Rumsfeld at Wednesday’s meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

In Le Figaro, June 3, retired French Gen. Morillon, chairman of the European Parliament delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, calls for the creation of a European defense budget.

The war in Kosovo, the events of Sept. 11, the instability in the Middle East, and the conflict between India and Pakistan all demonstrate—if any such proof were needed—the importance of transatlantic cooperation and NATO’s duty, within the context of the new international order, to intervene, if necessary, on European territory and in its surrounding areas, particularly in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, in order to guarantee and develop an area of peace and stability, wrote Gen. Morillon, adding: " I share the analysis of an Alliance in crisis …. (But) let’s not hide behind a convenient paranoid fatalism, and let us succeed right now in rolling up our sleeves to meet the future challenge of the EU—to equip ourselves with the means to provide, alongside Washington, the defense of our fundamental values of democracy and rule of law…. The considerable efforts made by the United States following the shock imparted by Sept. 11 have confronted the European states with their responsibilities. By imperturbably pursuing the steady reduction of their defense efforts, European leaders, except in the case of Britain, have completely undermined the credibility of the EU’s desire to perform a role on the international scene…. Either the EU continues along this path and allows its American partner to deal with military problems on its own while tasking itself with managing the problems of peace ... or it pledges to spend better by pooling its efforts, which have hitherto been wasted, and to spend more. It will then be in a position to propose to the United States a sharing of the burden, which the latter has constantly demanded…. Priority must be given immediately to building a real European defense industry. It will take money, because we cannot do any better with the budgets currently allocated. This is why I propose the establishment of a European common budget allocated to research and development in the weapons industry. It would be funded initially by a contribution limited to 0.5 percent of each member’s GDP. The future of the Alliance depends on the implementation of a genuine European defense policy, built within NATO. Indeed, NATO has a greater need than ever of Europe and of its consensus expertise based on a common destiny and common interest."

BALKANS

• Euronews reported that the independent organization International Crisis Group has criticized UNMIK for failing to reestablish security in Kosovo’s divided town of Mitrovica. The group deplores the existence of a parallel administration controlled by Belgrade and suspects that the Serb leadership envisages a partition of Kosovo, said the broadcast. It added that the report calls for the replacement of the French KFOR unit, which it claims, has lost the trust of the Albanians. A press release posted on the International Crisis Group’s Web site criticizes UNMIK for failing to establish its jurisdiction in Mitrovica. The Serb part of the city is neither safe nor secure, the rule of law is not upheld, and UNMIK has been unable to establish a meaningful civil administration. Instead, a parallel administration, funded and controlled by Belgrade, delivers inadequate services, while the so-called "Bridge watchers," in part funded by Serbia’s Interior Ministry, prevent refugee returns and frustrate the international community’s efforts to establish a presence, says the report. To improve security, it adds, UNMIK police, backed by KFOR, should arrest members of the Serb bridge watchers where sufficient evidence of criminal activities exist. The Kosovo Police Service should be introduced to north Mitrovica, and the French KFOR unit, which has lost the confidence of the local Kosovo Albanian population, should be rotated out of Mitrovica as part of the command rationalization process.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia government has confirmed the identity of five economic immigrants who were killed outside Skopje in March, but continues to insist that the men were trained religious warriors bent on attacking western embassies. "The Skopje government maintains that the seven men were trained Islamist terrorists, though it has offered no proof, and western governments led by the U.S., say they doubt the men were extremists. Several U.S. and western officials say the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia government planned the killings as part of a studied propaganda campaign," the newspaper observes. Until last week, the seven men were unidentified, though the Skopje government had said several times that it had ironclad proof that the men were terrorists, notes the newspaper. It adds, however that a reconstruction of the movements of the men and an examination of their backgrounds shows that they had no ties to terrorism.

TERRORISM

• According to a leaked official dossier, "Islamic terrorists have turned Belgium into a recruiting base and the launch pad for future attacks across Europe," writes The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper adds that a report by the Belgian parliament’s intelligence committee, based on the files of the Belgian secret services, found that the Saudi backed Salafi movement had created a religious "state" within Belgium. Activists operated their own "Islamic police" to enforce Islamic rules and punish drug-dealers, prostitutes, and alcohol sellers. They were also circulating videos of Osama bin Laden and had carried out paramilitary training and parachute jumps in the Ardennes. According to the newspaper, the handful of senators privy to the secret report claimed that Belgium was harboring a fifth column that could turn dangerous in any future Middle East country. The report was said to conclude that Belgium had become "a logistical support base" for terrorist groups abroad—favored by the Al Qaeda network, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group GIA, the Wahabi Tabligh movement and the Hamas-linked Moslem Brotherhood.

INDIA-PAKISTAN

• Reuters reports Russian President Putin launched a bid to mediate in the conflict between India and Pakistan Tuesday, telling Pakistan’s President Musharraf he sought a solution that would end confrontation once and for all. Speaking at the start of a meeting with the Pakistani leader, Putin reportedly said he was passing on the concerns of U.S. and European leaders whom he had met at summits with NATO and the EU over the past several days. "Recently, the world community has followed the events on the Indian-Pakistan border with special alarm. I have had recent meetings at the summit with the EU, the Russia-NATO summit. My colleagues have asked me to pass their concern on to you," he added.

 FINAL ITEM