Monthly press briefing by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen - Opening remarks
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
04 Jun. 2012
Monthly press briefing
by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen - Opening remarks
Good Afternoon.
At the Chicago NATO Summit, two weeks’ ago, we set ourselves three clear goals: to shape the next stages of our engagement in Afghanistan; to ensure NATO invests smartly in future capabilities, even in times of austerity; and to strengthen our relationship with our partners.
We achieved those goals. Now we are taking the next steps.
On Afghanistan, we set out a clear path from now until 2014 and beyond. And we sent out a clear signal to the Afghan people and the region that we will stay committed.
Afghan army and police are taking the lead for the security of 75 percent of the population. In the coming weeks, more than 100 districts and cities in Afghanistan will begin the transition to Afghan security responsibility. That is a challenge. But the Afghan forces are ready for it.
Already, more than one third of a million Afghan soldiers and police are trained and ready to keep their country secure. 18 Afghan army battalions, and 65 police units, have been certified as capable of operating independently, with advisors from ISAF.
At the same time, more and more former insurgents are choosing to come back into society. Right now, around 4,400 former fighters have entered re-integration programmes. That is an increase of 40% since December.
Nous faisons donc des progrès. Et nous allons continuer de fournir aux forces afghanes le soutien et la formation dont elles ont besoin pour que ces progrès soient irréversibles.
C'est pourquoi nous avons décidé que l'OTAN et le gouvernement afghan travailleraient à la mise en place d'une nouvelle mission dirigée par l'OTAN pour la période qui suivra la transition.
Nous entamons le processus de planification de notre nouvelle mission pour l'Afghanistan. Ce ne sera pas une mission de combat. La nouvelle mission aura pour objectif d'entraîner, de conseiller et d'aider les forces de sécurité afghanes.
Nous avons également pris un engagement politique clair : nous assumerons notre part du futur financement de ces forces. De son côté, le président Karzaï nous a redit que les autorités afghanes s'engageaient à assumer leurs responsabilités pour ce qui concerne la bonne gouvernance et la protection des droits de l'homme.
We also reached agreement on reverse transit from Afghanistan with three Central Asian partners: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need. I thank all three partner countries for their support. And NATO will continue to actively engage with Afghanistan’s neighbours to build wider support for the country’s stability.
We are also making progress on implementing summit decisions on the other two key areas.
In Chicago, we signed the contract to acquire an Alliance Ground Surveillance capability – unarmed drones which will allow our commanders to see what is happening over the horizon at any time, and in any weather.
I am pleased to note that Denmark has decided to join the acquisition phase of the project. This is a valuable signal of solidarity, and of commitment to keeping our Alliance strong and capable.
We also declared an Interim Missile Defence Capability. That capability has now been formally handed over to our NATO Headquarters in Ramstein, in Germany. So our preparations are completed. This is a first, but significant step towards our longer-term goal of providing full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territory and forces.
I know Russia’s concerns on this issue. So let me be quite clear: those concerns are groundless. NATO missile defence is not directed against Russia, and will not undermine Russia’s strategic deterrent.
NATO wants to build a strategic partnership with Russia. Last week marked two important anniversaries in our relationship. On 27 May, it was the 15th anniversary of the signature of the NATO-Russia Founding Act – the document which sets out the framework of our relationship.
And on 28 May, we marked the 10th anniversary of the creation of the NATO-Russia Council – the forum where we meet as equals to discuss all topics.
We have come a long way since those two agreements. We are building practical cooperation in many areas where we have common interests. Afghanistan. Counter-terrorism. And the fight against piracy, to name just three.
Our goal is to take that cooperation to the next stage – to make NATO and Russia true strategic partners.
But to do that, we need to improve the level of trust, transparency and predictability in our relationship.
We welcome our cooperation with Russia, and we want to strengthen it. But we are concerned by some recent Russian statements, including on military deployments close to NATO borders.
So we intend to raise this with Russia. We have pledged to discuss the areas where we disagree, as well as the areas where we agree. And that is what we will do.
Finally, at Chicago, there was a strong message that partnerships are essential to NATO’s success. Our meetings were a recognition of that reality. And an opportunity to discuss with our partners how we work together, and how we can improve our cooperation.
We have built up a powerful momentum. Now it is vital to keep going.
That is why, later today, I will meet the Prime Minister of New Zealand. And next week, I will visit Australia. Both countries are making a real difference to our mission in Afghanistan. I particularly welcome Australia’s recent announcement that it will take the main mentoring role in Uruzgan province. This demonstrates that countries such as Australia and New Zealand may be far away geographically, but they are very close to us in terms of values and commitment. Together, we will discuss how we can come even closer together.
And with that, I am ready to take your questions.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
