Military

ESDP

¨         The EU appeared to have moved closer on Wednesday to breaking a deadlock which has hobbled its military rapid reaction force from birth, reports Reuters.  The dispatch quotes diplomats saying two eleventh-hour solutions, both of which would exclude Cyprus from the EU's future crisis management operations, were on the anvil as officials headed to Copenhagen for an EU summit.  The diplomats reportedly indicated that under the first solution, access to NATO assets would be limited to those countries which have a bilateral security arrangement with the Alliance or belong to PFP. "The practical effect is that this would exclude Cyprus and Malta,"  one diplomat, who asked not to be named, is quoted saying.  The dispatch adds that the other solution would emerge naturally if Turkish and Greek Cypriots, meeting on the sidelines of the summit, were to sign a framework accord for a political settlement on the island so that it can join the EU in 2004 as a reunited single entity.  Against this background, the dispatch quotes one Alliance diplomat saying:  "Here at NATO, we need to hear from the EU that all its members, including Greece, are happy with the PFP solution as the first step to unravel all this."

PFP

¨         Tbilisi's Prime News quoted Irakli Batkuashvili, head of the PFP Coordination Council of the Georgian General Staff, announcing Thursday that the second planning conference for the next Rescuer MEDCEUR military exercises under the PFP program would be held in Tbilisi in mid-January.  According to the report, Batkuashvili indicated that the Chief of the Georgian General Staff had invited his Russian counterpart Gen. Kvashnin to the exercise.  The report noted that Rescuer MEDCEUR will be the third military exercise held in Georgia under the PFP program.

NATO

¨         NATO officials and diplomats said NATO has quietly begun supporting the multinational peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, in the Alliance's first mission outside Europe and North America and a possible precursor of engagements in other trouble spots far from its home turf, writes the Washington Post.  According to the newspaper, officials and diplomats said NATO so far has provided help in military planning to German and Dutch contingents that are part of ISAF.  Once the two units take command of the peacekeeping force, NATO intends to expand its aid to communications, logistics and intelligence gathering and assessment, the sources reportedly indicated.  The article notes that the German-Dutch command is scheduled to last six months and some NATO members are pushing for the Alliance to take over command of the force at that point. But, it adds, diplomats and NATO officials say there is no consensus among the 19 member countries for such a step.  The newspaper asserts that for the initial phase, NATO involvement will be largely behind the scenes, with the German and Dutch in control.  "There won't be any NATO flag or anything," an Alliance official reportedly insisted, adding that "some countries are a bit nervous about it."  A spokesman for the German mission to NATO is quoted saying:  "This will be the first NATO operation out of area, but there will be no NATO footprint in Afghanistan.  It will be done very discreetly from Brussels."  The newspaper also quotes Alliance officials saying that during his recent visit to Moscow, NATO Secretary General Robertson briefed Russian Defense Minister Ivanov on NATO's plans and the Russians voiced no objections.

BALKANS

¨         Moscow's Interfax reports that President Putin Wednesday signed a decree extending the term of the Russian contingent's participation in the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia until July 31, 2003.  The dispatch stresses that a 350-strong military unit will continue to serve in Bosnia under the Armed Forces General Staff's command and receive financing from the government.  A related AFP dispatch says Russia also pledged to continue its involvement in Bosnia and confirmed it would serve in a European Union police force to be deployed next year.  "We are going to actively participate further in international efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the Dayton accords," a Foreign Ministry spokesman is quoted saying.  According to the dispatch, he added that Moscow welcomed the EU's plan to deploy a police force in Bosnia on January 1, taking over from the UN police force. The dispatch adds that a small group of Russian officers-less than a dozen-is set to take part in the 500-strong contingent.